Sweet & Low
by brttmclv
Summary: Being the leader of the pack made her powerful. Being able to take whatever she wanted made her feel confident. Airynn had it all, but she wanted more. But she met the man who broke her down. Now can Joe help her find her way? Death Sentence
1. Gone Away

"Oh my god, I don't even know why you're acting like this!" Airynn screamed throwing her hands in the air and glaring at the man in front of her. The man that had driven her up the wall from day one. Some days it was a good driving up the wall, others not so much. Today being one of those days it wasn't the good way and right now she felt like he was driving her crazy.

"Why I'm acting like this?" Billy asked standing up from the couch, cigarette dangling from his full lips. The same lips that have made plenty trips across her skin night after night over the past year. And even though she couldn't deny how mind blowing it felt, she still hated it at times.

"What about you?" He said, staring her down. "You act like it's all about you. Coming in here and thinking that we'd treat you like your old friends." He laughed maniacally. "You're a god damned joke, Air, thinking the world revolves around you."

'_My god, look at them.__'__ Rebecca giggled at the two people passing by. They were dressed in all black, wore heavy dark make up and had piercings in every place imaginable. _

_Airynn raised her eyebrows, giving her friend a serious look.__'__Well, they are so getting laid tonight.__'__The girls then burst out laughing. This was their routine. They sat at Lolling__'__s, the local hot spot, and trashed talked everyone that didn__'__t look up to par for them. That meant just about everyone. If you didn__'__t have the Dolce & Gabbana purse or a pair of Manolo__'__s, you didn__'__t fit in. _

'_So I heard that Lindsey is seeing Jackson.__'__ Mallory sang playing with her straw. Even thought Lindsey was one of their best friends, they still talked about each other behind their backs. That was just how it was. Airynn, being the __'__leader__'__of the pack of girls, was the only one who they never seemed to have any comments about. It was almost like it was more interesting and conniving to talk about your friends. It made them even more untouchable to others around and below them._

'_Well, he__'__ll get tired of her. He__'__s a real man and she__'__s just a girl. Plus, she__'__s gained like ten pounds over this summer. He likes his girls slim not pudgy.__'__ Airynn told them casually. _

'_So Airynn, who are you planning on going after this year?__'__ Rebecca asked. Airynn shrugged and stirred he drink._

'_I was looking at Taylor the other night.__'__ Airynn smirked, knowing Mallory was about to turn beat red. And she did._

'_Taylor? Keen, Taylor?__'__ Mallory chocked. Airynn nodded and looked over at her. Airynn knew Mallory had been seeing Taylor but she didn__'__t care. She knew Mallory wouldn__'__t say anything and just break it off with him as soon as she could. If she didn__'__t she__'__d be in for an ass chewing by Airynn._

'_Yes, why? He seeing someone?__'__ Airynn asked her._

'_No, no. Of course not.__'__ Mallory lied. And just like that, Airynn asserted her power._

"This isn't about me! And I never thought that." she screamed trying to defend herself. Only to admit deep inside that he was right. She had come from California nothing more than a spoiled naïve brat wanting to hang with the other side of the fence. But she was no match for the people that Billy hung out with. In fact, the only reason they kept her around was so he could have a nice lay

"Like hell, you didn't. You can't deny how you fucking grew up, Airynn. It's in your blood and no matter how hard Joe tries to show you this side of life, you'll never fit in. You'll always be at the end of the totem pole. The only time you'll ever get to be on top again, is when it is in my bed." Billy smirked at her. The smirk that made every guy shake in his boots and made girls whimper in pleasure. He used it for a pick up and he used it for a knock out. He knew what effect he had on people and he used it to any advantage. That's how he got Airynn. Even if part of it was in spite of Joe.

"Yeah, just like you can't deny the bastard that you are!" Airynn spat back, instantly regretting it as Billy stormed over to her, pushing her back until she hit the wall with a thump. Her heart raced as his big hands found their way to each side of her head and his knee went between her legs, making sure she wouldn't go anywhere easily.

"You're pushing it, Air. And not in a good way," he growled, just inches from her face. She could feel his hot breath on her face and it made it even hotter. "I took your little spoiled ass in as a favor for Joe; because he didn't want to see the streets eat you up and spit you back out. Now you wanna stick around you need to show me a little fucking respect."

Joe had told Billy that Airynn was too good for him. Even Joe, who Billy considered as a weak piece of shit, was too rough for Airynn but he was a lot less volatile than Billy was. So Billy, just to prove his brother wrong, made his move. He made sure to do it, right in front of Joe, as if he was daring him to do something about it and since then it was a constant game of who could make her want them more. Billy mainly using his words and appeal to lure her back when Joe got the upper hand by being the guy she really wanted. By being the guy that stood up for her and the guy that took her out to places. Basically, Joe offered her something Billy never could; his unconditional friendship.

"I hate you." she seethed through her tears. Billy let out a deep chuckle and ran a finger down the side of her jaw. He hated how pathetic she looked crying but knew she wasn't tough enough to do any better.

"Naw, baby you fucking love me." He whispered huskily into her ear. His lips brushed the side of her neck before biting it a little too rough.

"Ow!" Airynn yelped and jerked in his grasp. An evil grin spread across his handsome face as he let her go.

"Now get the fuck outta my face," he demanded and turned away. Airynn watched him walk back over to the couch and sit back down, as if nothing happened. She felt the anger boil in her veins watching him act so nonchalant about the situation. It wasn't about her wanting him and his gang to treat her like her parents had, this was about him treating her like his slave and a whore. Billy never was one for relationships so it surprised everyone when he had let her stick around. Of course, that didn't mean he didn't see other women. There had been many a night that she had come home to find him fucking the living hell out of some random whore in their bed. And even though she knew he wasn't going to show any kind of remorse or sympathy she wanted more than him asking her if she wanted to join. She wanted him to be hers. She needed someone who would actually care for her.

That's where Joe came in. He was the opposite of Billy. Granted, they had the same temper but Joe knew when and where to let it fly. Nights like those and days like this Airynn would run to Joe, which made her even more pathetic in Billy's eyes. Billy thought if you were going to run to someone for comfort or help, you should run to someone bigger then the one you're running from. Joe was not that to Billy. To him he was a step down and that made Billy laugh every time Airynn stormed out his door. What Billy didn't get was that Airynn saw Joe as the better man. Joe was the one that held her when she cried and told her it wasn't weak of her to do so. He was the one to make her laugh and smile through the bruises when Billy came home drunk and she was the only one for him to take it out on.

But the fact was, she was Billy's. Not Joe's. He could only do so much before Billy came banging on his door to get her back.

This time, though, Airynn had had enough. She stormed past him to the hallway, his eyes slowly following her as she walked. She pushed the door open and looked around the tiny room they called a bedroom. It was a major downgrade from her old room in Hollywood. Hell, Boston and everything that came with is, was a downgrade from Hollywood. Even the nice side of town looked like a dump compared to the places in Hollywood she could have lived if her parents hadn't convinced her otherwise.

Airynn had always been the golden child of her neighborhood. She had been popular, the girls looked up to her and the guys fawned over her. She was top dog back in Hollywood and no one took that spot until she left. But slowly that life started to get old to her. For some reason, her eyes adjusted clearly and she finally saw how fake she and her friends were. California and all that it brought to the table, just didn't look so appealing anymore. Airynn distanced herself from her friends and tried making new ones. But they thought she was just pulling their chain in some crude practical joke. After a while her parents confronted her and the next day she was on her way to Boston. To start a new life, to be the new her and let people see the real side of her.

'_Honey, are you okay?__'__ her mother asked sitting across from her. They had been sitting here for nearly twenty minutes, no one knowing what to say or where to start._

'_You__'__ve been acting strange, darling. Not going out like you used to. Not talking to your friends. What__'__s going on?__'__ her father asked. They had always been the perfect parents and couple. They met in high school, got married, got good jobs, got pregnant. All that happy fun stuff that fairy tales are made of. Airynn__'__s father was a lawyer and her mother was now a stay at home, with occasional book club meetings. They spoiled her but they did it to keep her happy. They thought if they gave her what she wanted she would stay straight and make the right choices._

'_I don__'__t know. I just…I don__'__t know.__'__ Airynn sighed. She wasn__'__t sure what had gotten into her but she knew she had changed in some tiny ways. Her parents looked from one another and then slid a folder over to her._

'_What__'__s this?__'__ she mumbled flipping it open. _

'_A plane ticket, a class schedule, and a move in slip.__'__ her father told her simply and threw her a key. __'__And a car key.__'_

'_Your father talked to some people at the University of Boston. They accepted you to study medicine there. Your father and I went ahead and got you a place off campus and a car. You can pick up the car at the airport when you land.__'_

'_Why didn__'__t you talk to me about this? It's my life.' Airynn grumbled looking at the pamphlet of campus. She wasn__'__t too upset by it but she was a little weary of leaving to a town where she would be all alone._

'_We think you need this. It__'__s far away from here and you always talked about seeing the other side of the country.__'__ her father told her gently. She nodded and looked at the papers as they went on about it being a good change. They said it was a chance to start over, to find the real Airynn, the chance to move where no one else knew her name. The chance to learn to take care of herself and not depend on anyone else._

"What the fuck are you doing?" Billy asked walking into the bedroom. His eyes scanned the room as Airynn quickly picked up clothes and threw them into a duffle bag. She heard him but refused answer to him any longer. She was tired of it and she just couldn't take it anymore.

"I asked you what the fuck you think you're doing, Airynn?!" He yelled this time. She turned to face him and he was almost shocked to see the amount of anger in her eyes.

"I'm leaving!" she screamed and turned back to the task at hand. Billy huffed and leaned on the door frame to watch her. She knew he wouldn't say anything, she knew he thought she was faking. He knew she would come back to him in the end. She always did.

_Cause she's already out the door,she's already out of hereshe's already gone away...already gone away..._

Sunday Best by Augustana


	2. Alone

**Okay so I want to thank everyone for the reviews last chapter. As if you didn't see this is more of a Joe story. Also more of the relationship between Billy and Joe as brothers. I really wanted to do this. And so far it's getting good reviews. I want to throw a big thank you to my lovely friend and beta reader Esther, who wrote the second flashback of this chapter. There will be more to come. So enjoy!**

**SexySadie88 - You shall find out soon! :)**

**St.Elmo-Lover - I got enough Four Brothers...lol. But I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks! :)**

**BEG75 - Thanks! I'm so happy you enjoy my non-NY stories...lol. I really wanted to do this and finally found a good storyline to do it. I hope I can keep it up! :)**

**Beccatdemon13 - Thanks! :)**

**Straight Edge Queen - Thanks! Yes, Joe was a underrated charater to me. I love Matt and his films. And I thought seeing a side of Joe, or at least more of Joe, would be nice.**

* * *

"Why do you let him do this to you?" he asked the tiny blonde at his door. Her hair looked dingy and frayed and her eyes were red and brimmed with tears. Right now, she was far from the bubbly and breathtakingly beautiful girl he met a year ago.

He wasn't exactly sure why she ran to him after a fight, but he was happy she did. He liked having her around. The fact that she thought about him and ran to him for comfort and protection, made him feel like a better man. Especially because it was the self proclaimed gang lord of south Boston she was running from. So for her to run to Joe, made him feel better than Billy, for once.

Joe was in high school and although he didn't like it, Billy was making him go anyways. Joe knew why Billy wanted to keep him away from Bones but he couldn't grasp why Billy didn't want to take Joe along with him when he was doing whatever the hell he did on the streets. Joe came to thinking that Billy didn't want him around because he considered Joe weak.

Billy knew he was tough on Joe but the longer he stayed off the streets the better. He didn't want Joe to become what he became after the night that destroyed their lives for good, but he wasn't going to tell him that. Billy would rather Joe think he hated him then to tell him what he really felt.

'_Hey, Darley!__'__ a voice behind Joe called. He let out a big sigh and turned to face Matt Tanner. Matt__'__s older brother, Charlie, was in tough competition with Billy over who was getting what streets. It wasn__'__t pretty and Billy had made sure to keep Joe out of it._

'_What, Matt?__'__ Joe asked, trying not to look aggravated, knowing it would cause more damage._

'_No big brother today?__'__ Matt asked, looking around for the mustang. Joe shook his head and went to turn away._

'_Where you going?__'__ Matt called out. _

'_Home.__'__ Joe replied still not turning around. Matt jogged to catch up with him and when he did, he grabbed Joe__'__s shoulder and spun him around._

'_Don__'__t walk away from me when I__'__m talking to you, Darley,__'__ Matt seethed. Joe rolled his eyes and went to walk away again. That was where him and Billy differed. Billy would have knocked him a new one but Joe just wanted to go home. He didn__'__t feel the need to fight when there was a chance to just walk away, even if someone like Matt Tanner pushed his buttons like this._

'_I__'__m going home, Matt. Pick a fight with someone else.__'__ Joe sighed._

_Matt jerked him forcefully backwards. __'__I told you not to walk away from me, you little fuck.__'__ Joe dropped his bag when Matt__'__s fist collided with his nose. He stumbled back and brought his hand up to his face, feeling blood trickling down. Now Matt had actually attacked him, things were different. Joe stood up straight and took a shot at Matt. His knuckles crashed into Matt__'__s jaw, making him the one stumbling back this time. Joe was about to hit him again when an arm grabbed him from behind. He felt his breath catch as one arm tightened around his throat from behind and someone twisted his arm painfully behind his back. That__'__s when Matt gave him a swift blow into the stomach._

'_Not so tough when big brother Billy ain__'__t around.__'__ Matt laughed. Joe tried to shut out the pain in his stomach and smirked at him._

'_And you__'__re not so tough unless you have your fag friends to help you out.__'__ he laughed, earning another fist to burying itself in his eye. He wasn__'__t sure why they didn__'__t hear the engine of the car across the street, but he was glad they didn__'__t. As Billy pulled up he jumped out of his car and ran over to Joe, Bodie hot on his heels. Suddenly, Joe__'__s throat was free and Matt was on the ground. Billy looked over at Joe and pointed to Matt._

'_Get your shots in.__'__ Billy ordered. Joe smirked and raised his leg to kick Matt in the ribs. He let out a loud wail and Billy smirked. After a few shots to both guys, Joe kicked Matt in the face for one last time and spat on the ground in front of him when Matt yelped in pain. ,Then, he turned to look at Billy, letting him know he was ready to leave. Billy grabbed Joe__'__s shoulder and smiled._

'_Good job, Joey.__'__ he said and then turned around. __'__But next time don__'__t let me pick up your slack.__'__ Joe nodded sadly and walked to the car. Billy always had to put him down when he was already on his knees. This was only the beginning of no one taking Joe seriously._

Billy had always been tougher, stronger and more attractive. Joe thought it was the fact that he had power that made him attractive. Girls liked that. They wanted a man that could have someone killed with the snap of his fingers. They loved Billy because he had all of south Boston wrapped around his finger. Everyone knew him and he knew everyone. It was safer and better that way. That was one thing Joe had to give him. He protected what needed to be protected. Whether it was his goods, his gang, or his family, Billy always kept them safe. It was something that was important beyond anything else, Billy taught Joe.

Joe wasn't even sure there was a time when he and Billy actually got along. He barely remembered life before his mom died but he knew it was better than after she was gone. When she was alive she took care of him and Billy. She showered them with love and everything they needed. And she tried to make sure to keep Bones as far away from them as she could. No one knew why she stayed with him. But she did and for a while she made sure that Billy and Joe could be the innocent kids they were.

Joe didn't look like a Darley. Yes, he was tall. Yes, he was covered in tattoo's. He even was strong. But he wasn't nearly as scary, intimidating or brutal as Bones or Billy. At least, that's what everyone thought. Joe had the Darley genes in him. He just didn't use them every second of the day. He didn't feel the need to be pissed off all day or yell at people all the time. He didn't want to live his life like that. He was 23 years old and he wanted to remember his life as a fun time.

Then again, he wanted to fit in. He did the things the other guys did just so he could get the tiniest amount of respect from Billy and his gang. He wanted to be taken seriously. Airynn, without knowing it, put a damper on that. They saw him chase after her and rolled their eyes. She was nothing to them. She was the spoiled brat that she had grown up to be. Joe tried to tell them that she was changing, that she didn't look at life that way anymore. But they judged her on her appearance and they didn't understand that the whole reason Airynn was out here was to get away from her old self, make a new life and stop judging people by how they looked.

"I don't know. It's not like I ask him to put me down, Joe." Airynn whispered, looking down at her feet. Joe felt his heart break every time he saw her this way. She was way too beautiful to be crying. Those bright blue eyes were not meant to cry.

"Come in." He said opening the door more. She stepped inside and instantly wrapped her arms around herself. He knew why she did it and he hated it. He knew Billy was to blame.

It was a form of insecurity for Airynn. She felt the need to hold herself because she didn't feel anyone would hold her. Billy had gotten her to the point she felt out of place no matter where she was. Every time she wakened into a different place her defenses went up and she cowered away. It was a way for her to comfort herself and Joe blamed himself for that. He felt he wasn't man enough to take care of her. He couldn't keep her safe like Billy could. He couldn't measure up to Billy.

That's what Airynn hated about him. She hated how he always compared himself to Billy. She hated how he let people compare him to Billy and let it get him down when they told him how useless he was compared to his brother. She didn't think he needed to be compared to him, Joe was his own personality and to Airynn, Joe was the better man. There was no comparison. Billy could never be what Joe was, like Joe could never be what Billy was. That was all there was to it. And now, even though in her heart she knew it had been Joe all along, standing here in front of him crying made her feel less of a person. It made her feel even further away from the girl she left and the girl she wanted to be.

"Stop that." Joe scolded. She looked over at him and blinked back tears.

"Stop what?" she asked, thoroughly confused and thinking he was about to jump at her for being this way. Joe read it on her face and rubbed his chin.

"I'm not going to yell at you, Air. I'm not him." he told her gently and then pointed to her arms. "Stop holding yourself. You got me for that, right?" he smirked at her. Usually, she would have smiled back but tonight was different. She didn't want to play coy with him and pick on him for flirting. Tonight she simply wanted him to hold her.

She just nodded, letting a whole new flow of tears run down her cheeks. Joe had counted on her to keep him at bay. He was surprised at her reaction, but immediately reached his arms around her and pulled the girl into him. She had come here broken and confused, wanting to make a new life but because of Billy she was worse. He rubbed her back as she cried into his chest and he kissed her temple as her cries became softer. Airynn had almost forgot what it felt like to be held like that. Anytime she would cry Billy would laugh at her or worse, hit her. She tensed thinking of him and accidentally dug her nails into Joe's chest. He felt her tense and pulled back slightly, pulling her chin up as he did.

"I'd never do this to you." he whispered, looking deep into her blue eyes. They were still just as beautiful even though they were shimmering with tears.

"I know." she sniffed.

"I'd never hit you. I'd never make you cry." He sighed and wiped a tear away with his thumb. "And I'd never give you a reason to run away."

_He heard them yell at each other as he gave Billy a frightened look. His brother pressed his ear against their bedroom door, listening intently to the voices screaming at each other. __'__Billy, I don__'__t want…__'__, Joe started, whimpering as he heard something smashed in living room downstairs. _

'_Shut up!__'__, Billy hissed, cutting him off in mid sentence. __'__Stop whining, Joe!__'__ He turned to look at his little brother and immediately felt sorry for having snapped at him. Joe sat in the far corner of the room, as far away from the door as possible and he was shaking like a leaf. Sometimes Billy forgot that Joe was only seven, like he forgot that he was just twelve years old. The fights, the beatings and the feeling of not being safe had made him feel older than his age, had put him on his guard whenever he had to deal with other people. Billy had learned the hard way that it was better to attack than to defend._

_Billy thought it was strange for Joe to react so differently to fights. Sure, he was younger, but Billy didn__'__t think Joe would ever be able to be strong like he was. It was the reason why he protected him, Joe just didn__'__t have the survival instincts he had. Joe would sit there, trembling and whimpering, until someone told him __–__ no, made him- do differently. __Billy just couldn't understand that it wasn't Joe's nature to seek out confrontations and it pissed Billy off beyond anything to see Joe act like this while he should stand up for himself._

_Billy made his way across the room, pulling Joe to his feet. __'__Stop that!__'__, he spat at him, __'__You__'__re acting like a baby. You know I keep you safe!__'__ Joe__'__s lower lip was still quivering but he nodded. __'__Crying never did anyone any good,__'__ Billy stated. _

'_Can we go now?__'__ Joe asked, trying to hide his fear as best as he could, but he couldn__'__t help to jump at the screams of his mother and the shattering of more furniture and by the look of it, Billy had been startled, too. _

'_OK. Let__'__s go, then.__'__ Billy turned and head back to the door, opening it and peeking into he hallway. He didn__'__t have to tell Joe what to do or to keep up now, he knew Joe would tail him like a dog, afraid to be left alone. _

_As they slipped into the dimly lit landing and sneaked down the stairs, the voices became louder. _

'_You think I enjoy this? You think I actually like having to put you in you fucking place?__'__ a man__'__s voice barked._

'_I took that money to buy something for the boys! They are your children, too!__'__ yelled a woman._

'_I fucking told you to shut up!__'__ As their fathers words drifted into the hallway, they heard their mother gasp._

_In the eerie silence that fell, Joe grabbed hold of Billy__'__s shirt, looking at him. The confused expression on his face told Billy that Joe, as young as he was, had picked up that this was a different silence than the ones that usually took place when their mother finally gave in and obeyed to whatever Bones told her to do. Billy pointed at Joe and then at the front door. Tiptoeing Joe made his way through the hallway, softly opening the door. Then he stayed there, waiting for Billy to tell him what to do next. _

_Billy pushed the door to the living room ajar. It took a while for his brain to process what he saw. Bones had pointed a gun at his mother and both of his parents stood frozen, staring at each other. As he heard the first shot, he wanted to rush in to save whatever there was left to be saving, but something prevented him from moving his feet. He could only stand there, the sound of the gunshot ringing in his ears._

_The second shot brought him to his senses. As he saw his mother fall down, his survival instinct took him over once more and he turned to look at Joe, who stood still like a statue, paralyzed by the sound of his mother__'__s last scream. Billy saw the horror on the face of his little brother as he dragged him outside and he heard himself scream for help as he ran down the street. _

Airynn looked up at him and smiled. Without even thinking Joe leaned down and captured her lips. Their lips lingered for a moment before Airynn pulled back a few inches. She looked at him again before snaking a hand around his neck and pulling him down to her. He didn't have to beg entrance for long as she graciously parted her lips and welcome him in. He sucked on her full lips and let the tasted of her tears fade away. Both forgot about the whole situation as their tongues mingled, first gently but more hungry as their kiss endured. Both enjoying the feel of being with one another; Joe relishing the feeling of finally having her and Airynn happy to be wanted with such passion. Nothing and no one else but them existed in this moment and as they lost themselves in it, both knew: It was right.

_You don't know how long I have wanted_

_To touch your lips and hold you tight_

_You don't know how long I have waited_

_And I was going to tell you tonight_

_But the secret is still my own_

-Alone by Heart


	3. Good Things

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm so happy everyone likes it so far. Sorry it took longer this time. The most awesomest beta reader ever, Esther, went on vacation, I envy her...lol. But thanks to Miss. E for her lovely help! I love ya!! Muah! Now enjoy! :)**

_When Airynn had just left her study group and was looking for her keys in her purse when she bumped into someone. She wasn't prepared and fell down to the ground and spilling her purse's contents all over the place._

_'Shit, I'm sorry.' Joe apologized. He wasn't even looking where he was going. He was too busy trying to count the money he had just gotten from a customer. He had a history of having frat boys cheat him out of well earned money and always counted it before leaving campus. Lately, they had been good but Joe didn't feel that Billy would understand if he came short._

_He kneeled down and started to pick up the girl's stuff and it was then he saw her. The first thing he noticed was how big and bright her eyes were. They were a pale blue but stood out brighter than the sky on a clear day. The light pole in the middle of campus gave her light blonde hair a golden glow as she smiled up at him. Joe felt his heart skip a beat as a weird but pleasant sensation in his stomach got hold of him._

_'It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention.' Airynn laughed lightly. She took in the young man's features and surprisingly found him quite attractive. He had tattoo's on his neck and most likely more where she could not see. He was tall but lanky and Airynn found that quite ironic. He didn't look like he could hurt a fly but he was made up to look like it._

_'Where you headed this late?' Joe asked, picking up her compact mirror and handing it to her. She flashed him a wide smile and stood up._

_'I was just leaving a study group. You go here?' Airynn asked. Joe faltered a minute and then nodded. _

_'Uh yeah. I was leaving a friends place.' he lied. This girl was already out of his league and the last thing he wanted was to scare her off by telling her what he really had been doing. No, he'd keep that to himself, this girl looked way too delicate to show his real colours to. Airynn didn't notice his hesitance and nodded._

_'Oh okay. Well thanks for helping me.' she smiled and went to walk off. Joe watched her walk and searched his brain for anything to say or ask to stop her but she beat him to it._

_'Do you mind walking me home?' Airynn asked, quickly, turning around facing him again. She had never asked a guy to do anything, she waited for them to ask and if they didn't they weren't good enough. But he seemed different. He looked like a punk but didn't really act the part and she was curious to find out if he could be even more than that._

_'I'm not from here and I still get a little frazzled walking by myself. I live just a few blocks away.' she added, smiling. Joe smirked and walked over to her. He didn't expect her to ask him that._

_'Sure, Boston's not a forgiving city.' he smiled as they started walking. 'I'm Joe by the way.' he said holding out his hand. She flashed him that smile again and placed her tiny hand in his._

_'I'm Airynn.' she smiled. Little did she know this would not only be the start of a friendship but the start of a hardship as well._

Surprisingly, Airynn enjoyed his company and Joe was eager to keep in touch with her. Airynn came to see that Joe was a prime example of don't judge a book by its cover. He was gentle and polite, but had a certain confidence in his demeanor that showed he was used to getting his way. Airynn, being so small and fragile had been insecure from the moment she realized she was alone in this huge city. It was no surprise when they went out in public, they got odd looks. Airynn thought it was because of the difference in appearance and for some it was. She had no reason to realize that the odd looks also hinted something else. People were looking at them because of who he was. They didn't understand why a girl like Airynn was with Joe Darley and they certainly did not see how Joe affected her life, showing her Boston, both good and bad parts and everything it had to give.

"You remember the first movie we went to see?" Airynn asked, looking up from Joe's lap. Joe was sitting normal on the couch with Airynn's head in his lap, watching a movie.

"Uhhh Transformers." Joe smirked, proud that he remembered. Airynn smiled up at him and poked the bottom of his chin.

"You remembered." she gushed and leaned up to kiss where she had just poked. Joe wrapped an arm under her arm and pulled her up so she was sitting in his lap now. She rested her head on his shoulder and blew in his neck.

"How could I forget? Megan Fox was_ hot_." he accentuated the last word. Airynn's jaw dropped in fake anger as she moved to straddle him and started to pinch his chest. Joe laughed and grabbed her hands from the attack.

"Only if you like that type of girl." Airynn pouted at him. He pulled at her wrist to get her closer but she kept pouting.

"I do." Joe smiled at her.

"What about me, then?" she asked, hiding the smile on her red lips and looked away, still acting hurt. Joe thought this was profoundly cute and pulled her closer.

"I like you even better." he whispered and brought his lips to her neck. Airynn held her gasp and moved her head to break his lips from her neck, but replaced the space with her lips. Joe quickly begged entrance, wanting to taste and feel her again, and she obliged. Her hands went to each side of his face as she sank into his body and cherished their second kiss for that night. He snaked his arms around her petite waist and trailed his fingers up the back of her shirt.

Joe mentally fought himself as the kiss started to become more demanding and hungry. It wasn't that he didn't want Airynn, because Lord knows he did. He wanted nothing more than to feel what Billy had bragged so openly about, to feel her skin against him and be able to look at Billy and smile. To smile that cocky smile he always gave Joe when Billy, not so subtly, led Airynn to a secure place and let their sounds fill the air around him. But he didn't want this to be a coping technique for her. He didn't want to be second best or just the guy she ran to after a tough night. All these thoughts plagued his mind and all cleared when he heard her.

"Joe." Airynn gasped, leaning further into him. She hadn't felt a touch like his in what felt like forever. Sure Billy knew his way around a woman but he never took the time to touch one or take his time with one. Airynn could only imagine how Joe could make her feel in a more intimate situation and from the way things were heating up she thought she might find out.

After hearing his name come from her barely parted lips Joe swung into action and quickly moved them so he was on top of her on the couch. Airynn's tiny fingers pushed his black vest off his shoulders and ran them back up his arms to his neck. He involuntarily shivered at her touch and leaned up to peel his shirt off. For the first time she got to see what tattoo's were hidden under his clothes and she smiled. He looked down at her as her blue eyes brightened and her lips curved for him. But it all stopped with the bang of a fist.

Joe jumped off of her and pulled his shirt back on. He looked over to the door and waved his hand at Airynn to get dressed. She tried not to let the fear in her eyes show as he reluctantly opened his door to reveal his drunken older brother. In all honesty, Joe wanted to shut the door in his face and leave it be. Unfortunately, he couldn't get away with that so he had to put a halt to his previous actions with Airynn. Why did he always have to ruin things right when they get good?

'_Eww what are you doing?__'__ Airynn squealed, sitting Indian style in the middle of Joe__'__s floor. They had managed to become pretty good friends over the past few weeks. Airynn was happy she found someone to talk to and Joe was happy just to be around her. Of course, he had kept her from his other life. Granted, he felt like shit for lying to her but he felt it was safer with her not knowing. Boston was way different than LA. Joe knew she wouldn't be able to handle the darker side if things. He knew eventually she would find out and he hoped that when she did she would understand. She really didn__'__t notice anything, she was too innocent and too used to the fact that people did not dare lying to her . She knew he had a few odd friends but never thought about it. She was happy with him and their friendship. What he did when she wasn__'__t there and what he did with his friends was his business and he had been able to avoid questions about it. Every time she would ask him about his life, he found a way to change the subject. _

'_Stop, now look.__'__ Joe laughed and pulled his pant leg up and started peeling off the white bandage. Airynn looked on through squinted eyes as he peeled the bandage off his calf. She made a gagging noise when she saw the blood and gel mixed. _

'_You're so girly.' he laughed. She gave him a playful glare and leaned over to look at it. She had never been a big fan of tattoo's but she had to admit, it looked good. Joe took forever picking it out, but when he saw that cat, he just knew that it was what he had been looking for. Airynn sat in front of him, examining the tiger crawling up his calf and her lips formed a smile that told Joe that she liked it. Then, she looked at him and leaned back on her elbows._

'_Look at this.__'__ she told him, slowly lifting the bottom of her shirt up. He couldn't hide the growing smirk on his face as she exposed her mid section to him. He wasn't paying attention but when he caught her staring at him, he focused. _

"_What? You have a piercing?" he laughed and leaned over to look her naval. Not only did she have it pierced but she had it done twice, one on the top and one on the bottom. Airynn bit her lip as he thoroughly examined her naval._

'_Is that so hard to believe?' she asked, looking down at him. He bit his lip and set on his knees in between her legs. She nearly jumped out of her skin when his fingers traced the outline of her naval and ran over the shiny ring. He wasn__'__t sure how she__'__d react but he slowly moved further between her legs until his face was hovering over hers. He was pleased with himself when he saw her grinning._

'_Yes?__'__ she asked coyly. She had waited for him to make his move but sensed he was reluctant, so she was going to make sure he knew it was okay. He leaned into her and was about to brush his lips against hers when the door burst open. Joe flew to a standing position and pulled Airynn up, stepping in front of her as Billy stormed into the room._

_He hadn__'__t looked in right away so he didn__'__t see Joe__'__s company until she was standing. When Billy noticed her he couldn__'__t help but grin. She was pretty tall and slim with sun kissed blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He couldn__'__t help but think she looked like a sun goddess. But those thoughts were quickly replaced with the ones of him wondering what the rest of her tanned body looked like and how nice she was if she was laying under him._

'_Billy-__'__ Joe started but was cut off at a wave of Billy__'__s hand. He froze when he noticed Billy was looking at Airynn and not him._

'_Who__'__s your friend?__'__ Billy asked walking over to Airynn, not taking his eyes off of her. She wasn__'__t sure who this man was but he sure made a memorable first impression. He had even more tattoo__s__ than Joe but it looked as if his was just one big one that curled all around his built body. She wanted to slap herself for thinking about how good looking he was with Joe right there but it was hard not to notice._

'_I__'__m Airynn, a friend from school.__'__ she told him as calmly as she could. Billy raised his brow and looked over at Joe, who looked like he had seen a ghost._

'_Billy, can we talk outside?__'__ Joe pleaded, not wanting this to be the way Airynn found out about him. Hell, he didn__'__t want her to be around Billy at all and his mind was racing. He desperately sought for a way to get Billy out of the room and away from Airynn as fast as possible. _

'_From school?__'__ Billy asked amused. __'__Ya made it sound like he goes there.__'__ Airynn__'__s face furrowed with confusion as she looked from Billy to Joe. _

'_Joe, who is this?__'__ Airynn asked, starting to feel uncomfortable. Joe shifted nervously on his feet and looked at Airynn._

'_How about we talk later? Can you take the bus home?__'__ he asked her. Billy was starting pick up what was going on and acted on it._

'_No, Joe. She asked a question. Who am I?__'__ Billy asked, lighting a cigarette. He took a long drag as Joe stared at him in disbelief. Joe knew that Billy figured it out when a taunting smirk spread across Billy__'__s face._

'_Joe?__'__ Airynn asked softly. Joe sighed and pulled her over to the side, making sure not to take his eyes off of Billy._

'_That__'__s my older brother, Billy.__'__ Joe told her. She turned to look at him but Joe grabbed her chin. __'__I need to confess a few things. I don__'__t want you to be mad but I will understand if you are.__'__ Billy snorted at his younger brother__'__s words and looked on._

'_Joe, what__'__s going on?__'__ Airynn asked. Joe looked down and closed his eyes._

'_I don__'__t go to UOB, Air. I don__'__t go to school.__'__ he confessed. Airynn felt her chest tighten as she looked at him. Why had he lied to her all that time?_

'_You… you don__'__t go to school?__'__ she asked confused, giving him a hurtful stare. _

'_I didn__'__t think you give me the time of day if I told you the truth.__'__ he sighed. Airynn shook her head and tried to process this all._

'_Tell her the rest, Joey.__'__ Billy smiled from behind them. Joe shot him a glare as Airynn took a step back from him._

'_Joe.__'__ she said firmly. Joe rubbed his chin and glanced at Billy again._

'_I know you__'__ve heard people talking about who that runs this part of town, right?__'__ he asked slowly. Airynn didn__'__t quite understand why he was asking this but nodded._

'_Yeah. Some guy named Darley. What__'__s that got to do with this?__'__ she asked getting impatient. Billy chuckled at her foolishness._

'_Let me introduce myself and my brother.__'__ Billy smiled walking over to throw his heavily tattooed arm over Joe__'__s shoulder. __'__I__'__m Billy and this is Joe. Billy and Joe Darley.__'_

_She couldn__'__t believe her ears when he said that. She had been hanging out with one of the most accomplished drug dealers in Boston and now she was at his older brother__'__s mercy. Which was worse because he held Boston in the palm of his hand. She yelled at Joe for nearly an hour, Billy quietly smirking the whole time. By the end of the night she was tired and stressed and, that__'__s when Billy offered to take her a night out. Joe knew Billy did this on purpose. His brother left him with no choice: either Airynn had to see the other side of Joe, or they would leave without him. Joe didn__'__t know what was worse. He decided to step up and he verbally explained to Billy that it didn__'__t seem like a good idea to take Airynn out in this part of town. This made Airynn, still pissed off and hurt by Joe__'__s lies, want to do it even more. Billy couldn__'__t help but smile as Airynn tried to extract revenge on his little brother._

"Billy." Airynn spoke as calmly as she could. Billy leaned in the door way and flashed her a drunken smile. He looked harmless and nearly out of it but they all knew better than to underestimate him.

"I was waiting for you to come back but you didn't." Billy told them walking into the living room. Joe swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and closed the door.

"I told you I wasn't coming back." Airynn spoke softly. Billy looked from her and then to Joe.

"So you run off to Joe?" he asked seriously. Airynn shifted and looked over at Joe when Billy burst out laughing. "You're kidding me." he mumbled and lit a cigarette.

"Billy, go home. Let her stay here and talk this through in the morning." Joe spoke up. Billy pulled the cigarette away from his lips and tilted his head as glared at Joe.

"There is no way that she's staying here." Billy told him firmly then looked at Airynn. All the drunken glee was gone now. "So get your fucking bag and let's go."

Airynn paused and looked at Joe. She wanted him to speak up, tell Billy no but that wasn't happening. Joe knew better than that. He knew what happened to people that crossed Billy; they ended up dead. He looked over at Airynn and nodded. Her heart fell and Billy laughed when he did. Joe was simply letting her go and Billy had already known this when he came to get Airynn back. Joe wouldn't dare to stand up to him, even if it was for Airynn.

"Ya see that." Billy smirked. "He won't even fight for ya." Joe's face flushed and he tried not to look at Airynn, fearing the look of tears in her eyes once again. She shook her head when he didn't look at her and stomped to the kitchen to grab her bag. She threw it at Billy and he caught it with a glare.

"Let's go." she hissed and stormed out the door. Billy saw her running out and at that point he remembered again why he loved being him. He loved being Billy Darley because to get what he wanted all he had to do was give an order and people would be running for him. Billy sent Joe a cocky smile and walked to the door, stopping in front of his brother. He gave him triumphant glare as Joe balled his hands into fists, feeling powerless and defeated.

"And boom-" Billy said snapping his fingers in Joe's face, "she's mine again."

_'Honestly what will become of me_

_don't like reality_

_It's way too clear to me_

_But really life is dandy_

_We are what we don't see_

_Missed everything daydreaming...'_

All Good Things(Must Come To An End)

Nelly Furtado


	4. Morals?

**Okay, thanks for all the great reviews. Thanks to Esther for being a lovely beta!! Muah! enjoy!! :)**

**SexySadie88- Yes, he has bead timing, huh? :)**

**BEG75- HaHa...Yes, he has this sense for when Joey gets to close! Such bad timing! But thanks. I'm really glad ya like this. It's hard at times...lol.**

**beccatdemon- Thanks! Yes, it is weird seeing Billy this was but it is so beleivable!And Joe grows on ya! He's so adorable! I had to give him some spotlight.**

**MissIndepenent101- Yes, little Joey's got attention now...lol. Glad you like it so far! :)**

* * *

Joe felt downright miserable when he heard the roaring Mustang taking off. He mentally beat himself up over it every time when he let Airynn step into that vehicle, because it meant that his brother had been stronger than him again. Joe wished he had the courage to stand up to Billy, but never before had he longed more for the power to wipe that cocky smirk from his brother's face as tonight. It pained him to put up with Billy's attitude, to deal with Billy's desire to kick him when he was already down, just because it was Billy's way of having fun. Yet nothing made him feel as miserable as to realize that Billy was right; he wasn't worthy of Airynn, because he couldn't even fight for her. His face got dark as he grabbed his red leather jacket and set out to find the girl that would help him take his mind of the evening that started out as a dream, but had turned into a nightmare.

It didn't take long for him to find her. He hit his usual corners and found her standing in an dark alley, just thanking one of her customers and counting the money he gave her. Joe walked up to her with the confident Darley-strut he had learned from Billy. She was pretty; tall and curved in the right ways, but Joe thought she was nowhere near as beautiful as Airynn was. This was just a girl he used on a regular basis to blow off some steam, but he was in no way attached to her. She was convenient; he always got what he wanted and she never expected more of him.

The girl swung her long dark hair over her shoulder as he nodded to greet her. "Hey Joey, I haven't seen you in a while. You got something for me?"

Joe dug in his pocket and threw her the drugs without saying anything, his glare said enough. The girl stopped in front of him, a smile playing around her lips as she ran her hand down his chest to his inner thigh. "Should we discuss the matter of payment?"

Joe reacted strongly to her words, grabbed her upper arms and dragged her a few feet further with him into the alley, until he smashed her into the wall. The girl let out a giggle as he started to unbutton her blouse. Joe was focusing hard on pushing the image of Airynn sitting on top of him out of his mind, but somehow the events of that evening kept rushing back to him. He could still smell Airynn's scent on his shirt, feel the touch of her hand running through his hair and savored the sweet taste of her kiss in his mouth.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the girl in front of him unbuttoned his jeans. "So she left you again, huh?" She stared at him for a second before she slid her hand down again. "I told you baby, you can't keep a girl like her. Not that I mind, though."

"Why don't you just shut the hell up." Joe said angrily, as he pushed her down on her knees before him. He couldn't stand hearing it again, and certainly not from a girl like Jennifer. He didn't even like her, but she knew exactly what he wanted and how he wanted it. Joe didn't bother to say anything else to her, not even when they were done and he walked off to go home.

_Joe__'__s mind was racing so fast that he couldn__'__t catch a single thought as they pulled into the Four Roses. He did not want Airynn anywhere near this bar. He did not want Airynn anywhere near Billy and now that she knew who he was, he didn__'__t even want her around himself.__ He knew his life was not the life she should be associated with but he had no choice. All he could do now was try and make sure she was safe but he knew Airynn wouldn't allow him to do anything at this point. She was ticked of beyond belief. She finally found someone she could hang out with and have fun with only to find out it was all a show. She didn__'__t even think about the fact that Joe could have done it because was looking out for her. She only saw that he had lied and made a fool of her on front of Billy. _

'_Ya wanna drink?__'__ Billy asked the tiny blonde to his right. He knew she wouldn__'__t talk to Joe, he knew she wouldn__'__t listen to Joe. He decided to take full advantage of that. Part of him was curious about what made Joe want to hang out with a snotty girl like this, but the main reason for Billy to make a move on Airynn was to show his brother that he could simply take whatever he wanted without anyone to stand in his way. Airynn looked around the room skeptically and then at Billy._

'_Sure.__'__ she whispered and moved closer to the bar. Billy smirked and waved Sammy over. _

'_Two Jack__'__s.__'__ Billy ordered. _

_Joe__'__s ears perked up and he glared at his brother. __'__She can__'__t drink that. She can__'__t drink at all, Billy. She__'__s 18.__'__ he told him. Billy was about to retort when Airynn stepped in._

'_Oh please, don't act like you care now.' she drawled. It was the same drawl she had in California. It was the tone that said, 'I'm better than you, so scat.' and that made her who she was back there. Joe had never seen or heard Airynn being cocky and arrogant like that and he was shocked at hearing her taking that tone with him. It made him realize how much he had hurt her. _

_Billy sent Joe a cocky smirk and slowly pushed the shot glass over to Airynn. She looked down at it and up at Billy before grasping it in her tiny hand and throwing it back. It burned her throat like nothing else but she wasn__'__t letting it slow her down. Airynn had her mind set and no one was changing that. She was determined to have a fun night, and she was happy to take a stab at Joe doing it. Part of her felt guilty and wrong for feeling that way but he hurt her. He purposely lied to her. No one lied to her and got away with it. _

'_Another?__'__ Billy asked, watching as she tried to hold back her wince as the alcohol dripped down her throat. He had to admit she looked good and from what he had seen tonight, she had an attitude too. She looked like the girls that had the holier than thou attitudes and that__'__s what confused him. He couldn__'__t help but wonder why a girl like this was hanging out with his low life little brother and what possessed her to tag along with them to this bar instead of running out like a scared little girl._

_Airynn looked over at Billy and glared. She knew he was trying to do. He was going to feed her alcohol all night until she was so shit faced drunk he could have his way with her. She would show him that he had another thing coming. Both brothers had royally pissed her off, Joe by lying to her and Billy by simply making her feel like an idiot. No, if either thought she would make it easy on them, they were sadly mistaken._

'_No.__'__ she refused and moved to walk away but Joe grabbed her arm._

'_Where are you going?__'__ Joe asked, worried. He didn__'__t want her to walk around the bar by herself or without him or even Billy there._

'_Away from you,__'__ she smirked and turned to send a nasty glare at Billy. __'__and him.__'__ she growled and walked away, grabbing the shot Billy had just ordered for himself. He grunted at her when she took his glass and watched her saunter away. _

'_Quit it.__'__ Joe grumbled at Billy as he watched Airynn walk off. Billy turned back in his seat and waved for another shot._

'_Why? She don__'__t want you no more.__'__ Billy smirked._

'_Yeah, thanks to you.__'__ Joe grumbled again and waved at Sammy for his own shot. He sighed gripped the glass as it was set in front of him. The brothers looked at each other before pouring the liquid down their throats._

'_You shouldn__'__t have lied.__'__ Billy stated, lighting cigarette. Joe looked at him shocked and confused._

'_What you got morals now?__'__ Joe asked Billy smirked at his little brother and exhaled the thick smoke he had inhaled._

'_No, I got a free piece now.__'__ he said with a glint in his eyes. _

_The Darley brothers were no where near what a family should be, but they were still family. They never sat down at night to have dinner, they didn__'__t go to baseballs games, or have family reunions. They worked for their father at the local body shop, they sold his drugs at night, and they terrorized the neighborhood .Instead of bonding over video games or fishing, they bonded over drinking and smoking and instead of fighting over who got to stay out later, they fought over girls and stolen drug money. Billy saw Joe as an inconvenience half the time but he was still his little brother. So just as quick as he slapped Joe around, he__'__d kill the one that dared touch him. _

'_No, you don__'__t. Stay away from her, Billy. I mean it.__'__ Joe told him. __'__She has a life better then this. Better than you-__'_

'_Don__'__t forget you live the same life as I do, Joey.__'__ Billy added placing the cigarette between his lips. 'So don__'__t think for a second you__'__re different or better than me.__'_

_Joe stared at Billy, thinking. He wanted to yell at him and tell him he actually was different. He wanted to tell him that being with Airynn made him feel different and that he knew he could take care of her, but he knew he__'__d get nothing but a laugh and rude comment from Billy._

'_It doesn__'__t matter. Just leave her alone.__'__ Joe mumbled and downed another shot. The two sat in silence for a few second before the sound of giggling filled the air. Both brother__'__s heads shot up and looked into the back of the bar. _

'_You__'__re joking!__'__ Airynn squealed in her seat, looking at the silver bar that went through the man__'__s lip. __'__That really didn__'__t hurt?__'__ she asked smiling at him. After she left the Darley__'__s at the bar she wandered to the back of the bar and found a Hispanic looking guy. He had tattoo__'__s like Billy and figured he was part of whatever it was that Billy did. He seemed nice enough, but maybe that was the three shots he had ordered her._

'_No, not one bit baby.__'__ the man smiled at her. She leaned in closer to look at it and smiled at him._

'_Lemme see the inside.__'__ she ordered him. He smiled and rolled his lip down. Airynn peeked over and grimaced._

'_You__'__re lying. That had to hurt. It hurts when you bit your lip.__'__ she told him sitting back in her seat._

'_I swear, I didn__'__t feel a thing.__'__ he winked._

'_That__'__s __'__cause you were high. Right, Heco?__'__ Joe stepped in. Airynn shot him a drunken glare and downed her next shot._

'_Did I ask you?__'__ Airynn spat. Joe ignored her attitude and looked over at Heco. _

'_I think you should__back off. She__'__s had enough.__'__ Joe told him. _

'_And I think you need to mind your business.__'__ Airynn snapped again. Heco smirked up at Joe and waved Sammy for two more shots. Joe's blood started to boil as Airynn scooted closer to Heco and grabbed one shot glass. She downed it quickly, but before her tiny hand could grasp the other one, another hand found it's way onto the table._

_Airynn__'__s eyes followed the heavily tattooed arm that had taken her shot glass and found Billy__'__s hard stare. She matched his stare and stood up from the table as he brought the glass to his lips. Billy tipped the glass to his lips and watched Airynn as the warm fluid drained down his throat. _

'_Heco.__'__ Billy barked and looked behind the tiny blonde. __'__Leave.__'__ he ordered. Airynn turned to see Heco walk away from the table and turned to look back at Billy._

'_If it__'__s not one, it__'__s the other brother. You boys just can__'__t seem to let me have fun.__'__ Airynn swayed, leaning the small of her back on the table. Joe glared at her, a smirk crawled on her face as Billy placed a hand on each side of her on the table. Airynn didn__'__t even have to look at him to see Joe was fuming and neither did Billy._

'_Well, how about I show you what fun is.__'__ Billy whispered in her ear, just loud enough so Joe could overhear what he was saying. The deep husky voice made her skin tingle and when she saw Joe flinch, she knew who she would get back at him. _

'_Yeah? What__'__s that then?__'__ she whispered just as low and seductive, looking in his steely blue eyes, her mouth just an inch from his. _

_Billy responded with letting one hand slide onto her hip and brushing against the small gap of flesh, smirking slightly at Joe when he did. _

_She smiled at him, cocking her head to the side. She stole one last glance at Joe and then leaned closer to Billy. __'__Show me.__'__ she challenged. _

_Billy__'__s smirk grew and he pulled her waist to him. He wrapped one arm around her as he made his way back to the door. He pushed her in front of him for a second and looked back at Joe._

_He turned a dark shade of red as he watched Airynn walk off with Billy, who made sure to give him one last wink before taking over what was almost his just a few hours ago. He wanted so bad to go follow them out and take her back but he couldn__'__t. He didn__'__t have the courage to face either Billy or Airynn__'__s temper. So he made his way back to the bar and that is where he sat the rest of the night, drinking and torturing himself over what he should have done. _

Airynn could not believe what had just happened. It was like a déjà vu of the past year, repeating itself once again. One would have thought that by now either Airynn would have given up on Joe or Joe would have made an effort to stand up to Billy, but none of them had the courage to do so. So Airynn was left, once again, to go home with Billy and deal with his yelling for the next hour or so about how she was stupid and a brat. But Billy had other plans.

"Go ahead and get it over with." Airynn seethed throwing the front door of their apartment open. Billy smirked as she stormed in, threw herself against the counter and glared at him.

"Get what over with?" he asked casually, walking past her into the kitchen. Airynn huffed and followed him into the kitchen.

"Yell at me for leaving, yell at me for running to Joe, accuse me of sleeping with him! Go ahead." she yelled crossing her arms. Billy grabbed a beer from the fridge and leaned against the counter, looking at her through squinted eyes. Inside he was smirking, he loved getting her all riled up and pissy. He liked her best that way.

"I'm not gonna yell at you." he told her in a matter of fact tone. Airynn was floored as she stared at him to see if there was nay sign of a lie. She knew it had to be there, but she just couldn't see it. Billy set his beer down and walked over to the fuming blonde in front of him. His big arms encircled her slim waist and pulled her flush against him.

"I'm mad at you." Airynn told him, trying hard to control her voice as his her brushed his nose up her neck and into her hair.

"I know." he mumbled into her neck and started sucking on the soft skin under her ear. He felt her shiver and let his hands drop to the sides of her thighs and lifted her up onto the counter effortlessly. Airynn kicked herself for letting Billy get to her and prayed she could find some kind of strength to say no.

"Stop it." Airynn whispered and pushed against his chest. Billy ignored her and started to slip his hands up the back of her shirt. Airynn remembered Joe doing the same thing earlier and pushed him back again. Billy shot his head up and glared at her.

"What the fuck?" he growled as she slipped off the counter and stomped off to their bedroom. Billy felt his anger rise and patience fall as he followed her into the bedroom. He quickly caught the door with his hand as she slammed it in his face and forcefully pushed it open, letting it hit the wall behind it. Airynn jumped at the sound and turned to look at him. She was regretting her actions just now as she looked into his blazing eyes and saw he was not trying to play nice anymore.

"Fine. You want me to fucking yell at you?" he glared at her and started walking towards her, causing her to back up. Airynn's heart beat faster and faster with each step he took. "Wish fucking granted." he snarled as her back hit the wall.

"Billy, I-"

"Shut the fuck up!" he yelled slamming his fist into the wall by her head. A smirk grew in his eyes as he watched her flinch and closed her eyes. Airynn tried her best to hold her tears back and was waiting for a hard fist to come across her face but instead she felt the pressure of Billy's fingers squeezing her chin.

"You'd think by now you would have learned your lesson. You can run to him all you want but no matter what I'll come back and he won't dare try and stop me." Billy hissed in her face. He saw the anger cross her face and smirked.

"Is that the kinda man you want? The kind that stands there as someone else goes after you?" he asked. Airynn wanted to ignore him but his deep voice filled her ears and she was forced to take it all in.

"You think Joe could protect you like I could? He won't even stand up for you, what makes you think he'd go after someone that harmed you? Huh?" Billy asked, knowing full and well he was getting to her.

"Just because he won't stand up to you, doesn't mean he won't stand up to anyone else." Airynn said through gritted teeth. She saw the pride build up in him as she looked at him with glistened eyes. That was the difference between Joe and Billy. When Joe saw her crying, her held her but Billy would laugh.

"Do you really wanna leave your safety in Joe's hands instead of mine?" he prodded. Airynn looked up at him and fought herself. Part of her knew he was right and part wanted to believe that Joe would stand up for her. But history made a big impact; he never tried once to stand up for her. Even when some guy on her, Joe would call Billy. She wasn't sure if it was because she was Billy's girl or because Joe just wasn't to keep her safe himself. She searched and searched for reasons to believe in Joe but she came up with nothing. So she just gave in to Billy.

Billy watched as she tried to think of anything to say or any reason to stick up for Joe but in the end he new he had won when she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Billy reacted quickly and pulled her tiny frame to his and picked her up. Airynn wrapped her legs around his waist as he made his way to the bed. She felt so hypocritical about this. On one hand she hated the fact that he never took his time with her, it was get undressed and get it over with, but on the other hand Joe was on her mind and she liked that he didn't waste time. It made her feel less guilty.

Billy walked over to the edge of the bed, tossed Airynn onto it and stripped his shirt off. He saw her sit up on her elbows and he crawled between her legs and started to undo her jeans. She pushed images of Joe from her mind as Billy yanked her jeans off and instead tried to think of a time when she enjoyed being with Billy. There were such times but they were long forgotten. Billy was an amazing lover, if you could call it that since, there was never any love, but what he did was amazing. He made her feel things she never felt when they first started dating. Now it was more like a numb feeling when they were intimate. Sure Airynn felt good and she couldn't stop herself from moaning and screaming his name but it wasn't the passion and lust she had for Billy when they just got together.

Billy never noticed this and if he did he didn't care. Inside he knew Airynn enjoyed it, the sounds from her lips as he moved inside her and the begging she did when he would start to tease her was proof of that. And tonight was no different. The sounds from her lips, her nails in his skin, her clenching around his manhood as she reached her max, let him know that even though deep inside she wanted Joe and she resented Billy for all his worth, there were just some things Joe couldn't give her. When he rolled off of her, Billy knew he had won once again.


	5. Epiphany

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Billy stood in front of Joe, staring at him like Joe had just said something that offended him. "What do you mean, do something fun?"

Joe sighed. He found it difficult to deal with Billy's moods, but he couldn't deny the simple fact that he loved his brother. As big of a bully as Billy was, Joe did not forget that it was his brother who had protected him and took care of him when they were younger. So he tried to make the best out the relationship he had with Billy and occasionally called him to ask if he wanted to hang out, without the pressure of work on their shoulders. Today had been one of the days that Joe had gathered the courage to call Billy, only to be turned down by him.

Billy burst out laughing. "What makes you think I want to do that?"

Joe fought the urge to be hurt by that comment and reminded himself that he hadn't been the best brother either. At least, not lately. Joe still felt guilty over what had happened between him and Airynn. He didn't regret it, but he sure as hell wasn't proud of it either. He knew that he shouldn't have made moves on Airynn like that, not when she was so vulnerable. And certainly not as long as she was Billy's. Joe was sure no good would come from it, so he tried to soothe his own conscience, convincing himself that it was better to invest time in the relationship with his brother, instead of with the girl he had loved from the moment he looked into her big blue eyes.

"Come on Billy, we're supposed to do some brotherly bonding stuff. Ma would have liked it."

Joe's comment had not exactly the effect he wanted, but he was satisfied enough with the reaction Billy gave to it.

Billy's head shot up, the cigarette in his mouth almost dropped when he sniffed. "hat do you know about Ma, Joe, she's fucking dead."

Joe shrugged. "I'm just sayin'…" he tried pointing out tentatively, but Billy cut him off.

"Okay, so let's do fucking something then." It was as if a light bulb went off in Billy's head. He knew Joe expected him to come out and blow up at him for finding Airynn at his place, or at least for the comment on their mother, but he had something better in mind. Billy thought it was time to put Joe back in his place, showing him why he looked down on him and preferred to hang out with real men, like his friend Bodie for instance.

Joe was a little surprised at Billy's sudden change of heart, but he didn't get the time to think about it, because Billy pressed on. "You wanna be a man? How about we get drunk, hook up with some chicks and have some quality time with them?"

Joe looked at his brother, recognizing the look in his eyes. This had nothing to do with Billy wanting to do anything fun with him, this had everything to do with getting back at him for whatever Billy thought Joe had done wrong. Billy knew Joe would disapprove of it, knowing it caused Airynn pain every time when Billy brought women home.

In his mind, Joe considered the options. He wanted to avoid bringing Airynn into this conversation at any cost. Although it was easy for him to hide the truth from Billy, Joe was not a liar. Billy would see right through him and know what had happened. Hesitantly, he nodded, while searched for a way out of the game Billy was playing with him. He came to the conclusion that he just had to play along in order to change the rules.

Joe felt a little light in his head, but he wasn't nearly as drunk as Billy was. Joe had purposely been holding back, while Billy had one shot after the other. Now, they came to the point where they had run out of any liquor and Billy got worked up over it.

"You know why you're not part of my crew, baby brother?"

Like usual, Billy took out his mood on Joe. He had endured a lot from Billy, but somehow tonight it rubbed Joe the wrong way.

"It's because you are too fucking weak." Billy's voice droned on, slurring. "You're not worthy. You're too soft. You're…"

"I am worthy, you just don't see it!" Joe retorted.

"Yeah? Then I fucking dare you to get me something better than that junk you just gave me." Billy now laughed out loud. "I'll tell you differently. If you manage to get me one fucking drink without actually paying for it, if you show me you have the guts to take whatever you want in the way real men do that, I might consider you as a member of my team."

Joe jumped to his feet, not sure if he understood Billy, but eager to find out anyway. "I stole stuff before…" He said, feigning bravura.

"I'm not talking about stealing, Joey… I'm talking about playing with real toys…"

Joe smirked over at Billy and nodded. Then Billy rose to his feet, making his way to the door, pulling out the keys of his car. "Let's see what you're made of…"

* * *

"Get the fuck back!" Billy yelled as the two brothers bounded into the liquor store. Joe felt the adrenaline rush through his body as he pointed his gun at the cashier.

"I want it all, home boy!" Joe yelled and threw a brown bag on the counter. Billy watched his little brother take control and walked over to the line of whiskeys and grabbed two bottles.

"We're taking these too, ya fuck." Billy yelled and looked around outside. The man hurried to empty the register and when he was done he pushed the bag away.

"Go, go, please go." he begged. Joe snatched the bag up and looked over at Billy. Billy smirked watching the old man shake, cocked the gun and aimed near his head. The man screamed and covered his head at the glass of the bottles shattered everywhere around him. Joe jumped and Billy hollered as they ran out the store and to his car. They sped off back to the apartment laughing at the old man that had just had the daylights scared out of him. A moment that didn't come often between the brothers.

_Billy tried his hardest to keep Bones away from Joe. Joe wasn't strong enough to deal with Bones and even if he was, he still didn't want him to go near his little brother. At seventeen, Billy knew the streets and it's people better than Joe did. Mainly because Billy didn't want his twelve year old brother running around south Boston, even if he was Darley. Everyone knew Billy but if Joe went out and they didn't recognize him, he'd be dead in a heartbeat. Billy took the runs Bones had before Joe could even speak up and the days that Joe did speak up, Billy would take the heat for when he screwed it up._

_"Where is the money Joe?" Billy growled at his younger brother. Billy had been gone when Bones called Joe to the office for a run, something he started after their mom died. He would make them work at the shop when they weren't in school, he sent them on drug runs in the middle of the night, he made them do his dirty work. Joe, wanting to prove that he was worth something, took the run and didn't tell Billy about it. He thought it would be a simple drop and hook, where he gave the goods and got the money, but it turned into a drop and run at the last minute. Joe tried to catch up with the guy as he took off with the goods and the money but Joe couldn't catch him. _

_"He ran off with it." Joe whimpered and looked anywhere but at his older brother. He knew he shouldn't have taken the run but he wanted to prove to his father that he was a Darley. Billy dropped his head into his hands and sighed._

_"I'm sorry." Joe mumbled and turned away from Billy. Billy sighed again and grabbed the bag from the table and took off. He had a lot to say to Joe, both good and bad, but he needed to get the worst part over with. He needed to go confront Bones and explain why a chunk of money was missing. But he was going to make sure that explanation was not Joe loosing it to some high junkie._

_Joe sat in his room after Billy left and fiddled with his fingers. He knew Billy was going to take the brunt of Bones anger from him once again. He hated that Billy did that but he knew he couldn't take it. He wasn't admitting he was weak but he knew he couldn't take on Bones. Bones was a volatile man. He enjoyed seeing weaker people come up to him, it was all the easier to chew up and spit out. Joe couldn't do that, he was too weak for Bones standards and that's why Billy took that job. Joe felt even less of a man by the fact that he let Billy take the heat for him. Joe knew it didn't make him look good in Bones' or Billy's eyes. Joe also knew Billy resented him for all the times he screwed up. If only Bones didn't insist on Joe taking certain runs, knowing that he's mess it up or get hurt, the relationship between the two brothers might have been better. But Bones would never let Joe off the hook and that kept a permanent strain on the brother's lives as brothers and as workers._

_"Looks like little Joey fucked up again, eh?" Bones snarled at Billy as he counted the money._

_"No, I snatched that run from him coming back from a sell. He stayed home." Billy lied. He wasn't sure whether Bones believed him or not but he was sticking to that. Bones chuckled and looked at his eldest son over the rim of his thick glasses._

_"That's a sad excuse of a brother you got yet you still take his shit when he fucks it all up." Bones said shaking his head. "That's a perfect way to have a relationship." he mumbled and threw the brown bag back at Billy. He glared at his father and wanted so desperately to yell at him and tell him it was his fault that Joe and him were this way. To tell him that it was his fault that their bond as brothers was tattered. Instead, he turned away and walked off. Billy knew this wasn't the last time he would cover for Joe or the last time he would make this walk. _

_The past few days alone had stressed Airynn out like no other but that was just from home. Besides dealing with Billy_ and Joe, she had school to stay up on and a part time internship at a local clinic. If her grades started to drop at all her parents would be the first to know. Luckily Airynn was good at time management and managed to stay in the highest percentile of her class and was a great employee when she was at work. She knew to leave home at home and work at work. Billy never seemed to care about her school or work anyways so when she was studying he left her be until she was done or until he got antsy. Joe, on the other hand, always showed a little interest in what she was reading or working on. He wouldn't ask too many questions because he didn't understand and didn't want to make a fool of himself, but the fact that he asked and took notice made Airynn feel good.

"Days like these make you wonder why you singed up for the internship, huh?" Mary, the head nurse, asked. Airynn smiled up at her boss and closed her book. The thing she loved most about this place was that everyone was friendly. No one made you feel less of a person because you were new or wasn't fully qualified. They helped you out when you didn't know exactly what to do. It was a nice change to go to work and be treated as an equal rather than stay at home and be treated like one of Billy's prostitutes.

"I don't mind it. Gives me time to catch up on some school work." Airynn smiled. "Not everyday can be as busy as late Friday, huh?" she said recalling last Friday when they had a waiting list of about fifty people. Apparently, there was a bug going around the schools and every parent wanted to get their child checked.

"No, thank god. I'm a mom but jeeze, people freak over the tiniest things." Mary laughed. Airynn laughed with her and let out a relieved sigh when the front desk clerk walked through the doors with a file.

"I'm making your day, Airynn." Leslie smiled and laid the file down on the desk. "She's in exam 2." Airynn smiled a thank you to Leslie and picked it up.

"Well, I'll find you in a few." Airynn told Mary and walked off down the white hallway.

When the opportunity arose for her to take the position, she wasn't too excited to take it. She was afraid of what Billy would say or do and she didn't find the thought of working in a clinic to appealing. Her parents sent her here to go Pre-Med because they thought she dealt good with people. They said she was a nurturer but she didn't see it until she officially decided to take the offer. She wasn't too keen on wearing baggy pants and a not so flattering pink, blue and green smock but after about a week of working there, she liked it. She liked talking to the patients and helping them out when they needed it. They essentially came to her for help and that made her feel good. She had even seen a few patients outside of the clinic and waved to her, smiling telling their friends that's one nice lady.

"Knock, knock." Airynn called knocking on exam 2's door and pushing it open. She walked in to and saw a young girl sitting on the exam table, fidgeting. The girl had a dark bruise on and around her left eye, a cut lip and a swollen wrist. Airynn closed the door and set her clip board down. She hated seeing women like this.

"Hi." the girl responded timidly. Airynn pulled up a rolling chair and sat in front of her.

"I'm Airynn Hendricks. I'm a nurse's assistant. I'm going to need your personal information as well as your insurance information. Okay?" Airynn smiled politely. The first thing she learned was not to judge people and not to jump them. If they had something to say, they were to say it on their own.

The girl nodded and Airynn grabbed her clipboard again.

"If you could just tell me your name, age, date of birth and current address." she smiled and rolled over to the desk.

"Uh Stacey Manning. I'm 21, born August 1, 1987. Current address is 143 Caruso Rd." Stacey rehearsed. Airynn nodded and then looked up at her.

"Any insurance?" she asked. Stacey shook her head and wiped a tear away. Airynn could see her slowly breaking down and it was killing her. She wanted to say something comforting, but knew it couldn't be done without making it sound like she passed judgment, so she just nodded slowly and went back to writing down the information.

"He says it's my fault." Stacey whispered out of the blue. It caught Airynn off guard and she set her pen down to let Stacey know she was listening.

"When he hits me, he says it's my fault. He-he tells me to do one thing and then another, then yells at me for not having them done in the amount of time it takes to do one." Stacey cried and carefully wiped at her bruised eye. "He doesn't do it often, but enough to show people that he does."

"Do you want to tell me who he is?" Airynn asked carefully.

"My boyfriend." Stacey whispered and laughed a little. "I feel stupid. You probably think I'm stupid. Staying with him even though he does this to me."

"Why don't you leave?" Airynn asked. Stacey looked over at her and tilted her head.

"I tried." she cried and looked at Airynn with pleading eyes. "How do you think I got these bruises? I tried to leave but he found me. He came after me, he always does. And each time it gets worse and worse. Then people see the bruises and look at me like I'm weak or just a piece of trash. I'm not though. It's useless to try and fight the undefeated. It's a loosing battle."

Airynn turned her head and looked away from the young, battered girl. She wanted so bad to tell the girl that she didn't think she was stupid nor should she feel that way, but she couldn't. She wanted to turn around and tell Stacey that she knew what she felt because she did let her boyfriend hit her and get away with it. But Airynn couldn't do that. Airynn was ashamed that she let Billy hit her and she felt like a hypocrite for letting this girl think she was better than her. In reality Airynn was just as broken as she was.

"What do I do?" Stacey whispered. Airynn looked over at her and scooted closer. She took the girl's hands in her own and looked into her eyes.

"You do what you feel is right. Whether its for safety reasons or dignity. You do what you feel is right and don't let anyone let you think differently." Airynn told her. Stacey sent her a sad smile and nodded.

"Now, I'm going to get the nurse and she will be in here to fix you right up, okay?" Airynn smiled and got up. She grabbed the file and walked out the door quietly.

"Mary, exam 2's ready." Airynn told her boss quietly when she saw her on the hall. Mary nodded and grabbed the file from her.

Before she walked back into the nurse's pit she stopped at the ladies room. She laid the file on the counter and built up the courage to look herself in the mirror. She finally tilted her head up and frowned. She didn't see herself anymore. All she saw was the bruises Billy gave her and a broken little girl.

_'I'd never hit you.'_

Joe's words ran through her head and she found herself looking at a different mage in the mirror now. She saw the happy girl she was when she came here. Airynn was forced to be two different people when she was with Billy and Joe. Joe go the best of her and Billy made the worst of her. She had gone between the two of them for so long and the only thing that had come of it was hurt. There was no doubt that the hurt would continue if she stayed with Billy but what about the pain that Billy would inflict on her and Joe? Did she really want to cause Joe more pain by giving him what he wanted? Could she stomach being with Billy and secretly longing for his little brother? It was a decision she didn't want to make but she knew she had to. She couldn't do this to herself anymore. She had to choose.

Billy or Joe.


	6. The More The Merrier

**SOOOOO sorry it took so long. My beta had some issues that came up. I swear it won't take this long again...lol. Thanks for th reviews and I hope you ejoy this chapter. :)**

* * *

_When she's sleeping on the sofa,_

_When she's laying in her Sunday best,_

_when she's turning over Friday,_

_I could swear I'm sleeping less and less..._

_and the ocean's getting warmer,_

_and California's on her mind,_

_Los Angeles is tired, _

_but we always seem to feel alright,_

-Sunday's Best by Augustana

When Airynn went home from her internship, she couldn't drive fast enough to get to his place. She had her mind made up and she had to tell him right away that she was not going to waste her life anymore. She refused being humiliated, beaten up and laughed at any longer. They had been through so much in such little time, most of it because of her, yet he still stood beside her. He never left her side and she had taken that for granted. She had been through so much in such little time, blinded by her own foolish pride.' It was time for her to own up to what she started and try to make things right. No matter how hard that might be and no matter how long it took, she needed her life to be fixed.

She ran up the stairs and burst through the metal door on his floor, her heart racing faster and faster as she approached the door. She was worried. Worried about how he would react, worried about what he would say or do. She tried to calm herself as she reached in her pocket to grab her keys.

"What the hell?" she mumbled when she didn't feel them. She looked in her other pockets and sighed. She left them in the car.

She took one last breath before knocking on the door. She frowned when she didn't her foot steps and knocked again, this time louder. She smirked when she heard him grumbling from the other side of the door. A gust of wind shot at her when he opened the door, rubbing his eyes. She felt the heat go to her cheeks when she looked down at noticed he was only wearing boxers. He smirked a little when he saw her cheeks turn pink and leaned on the door frame.

"Why didn't you just come in?" he asked groggily. He had way to much to drink earlier. She looked up at him with those pleading blue eyes. Even though he could see the confusion swimming in them, he still couldn't stop the feeling he felt when she looked at him like that.

"I left my keys in the car." she whispered, as she turned her eyes to the ground, too nervous to look at him. He could hear the nervousness in her voice and slowly pushed the door open to let her in. Instead of following her in, he stayed by the door, staring at her.

"What's up? You sound-"

He was cut short when Airynn pressed her lips to his. Joe was caught off guard and instinctively pulled her closer to him, slightly shivering when her hands ran up his chest and to his hair. Her kiss was demanding but desperate and it took him a few moments to realize what they were doing before he reluctantly pushed her away.

Airynn stared at him and when she went to move closer to him again, he held his hands out to stop her.

"Joe?" she whispered, confused.

"What are you doing, Air?" he asked softly. It was killing him to not return the obvious feeling she was having but he couldn't take it anymore and he didn't want it to be like this anymore. Every time she came to him they got closer and Billy showed up. He always let her down and then she showed up at his doorstep again, only to be claimed by his brother over and over again. That scenario never failed. As much as he hated to say it; she was Billy's girl and Billy was his brother.

"I need to talk to you." she whispered and grabbed his hands to pull him over to the couch. Images of the last time they were there flashed through both of their heads and the urge to pick up where they left off was strong. Joe heard the seriousness in her voice and he saw it in her eyes, it was too intense for him. He knew she didn't come here for chit chat but he wasn't sure if he was ready for what she had to say.

"That's not how you talk to people, Airynn." he joked, pointing back to the door where she had kissed him. She didn't say anything, she just stared at him letting him know that this wasn't the time for jokes. He stopped smiling and looked at her softly.

"What's going on?" he asked. She moved closer to him on the couch and took his hands in hers.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "For everything. For getting so mad at you that night I found out who you were, for going off with Billy in spite of you. For never standing up to Billy when he would come get me-"

"You weren't the one that was supposed to be standing up for him, I…" Joe blurted out. Airynn put a hand over his mouth and shook her head.

"For putting you through all this. I'm sorry." she apologized. "But I want to make it right. I want to make it better. For us." Joe stared at her and tried to process her words.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Airynn sighed, realizing this was harder than she thought. She took another deep breath and looked at him.

"I need you, Joe." she confessed. "I always have and it seems I always will. Not even Billy can change that. I can't be with him any more." she cried. Joe realized what she was getting at but was too stunned to speak.

"I can't take it. I can't kiss him or act like I want to be with him anymore. I want to be with you. I want us to really be an us. I-"

"No." Joe blurted, cutting her off. When she didn't hear him speak the words she had expected to hear, Airynn stopped talking and gaped at him. His words were like knives ripping her insides to pieces and when he noticed the pained look on her face, he couldn't find the words to explain himself.

"I can't do it." He finally whispered. "I can't share you with him."

"I will leave him. I am going to break up with him to be with you." She blurted. She refused to think about the consequences of that decision, she was determined.

Joe's head snapped up and he glared at her.

"Don't you see it, Air?" he nearly yelled out of frustration. "Billy will never give you up to me. He will never let you go and I am not sharing you. Certainly not with my brother, who could have us fucking killed at the drop of a dime! If I have you, I want you to be mine. I need you to be mine." he yelled, ignoring the tears falling down her face. Airynn bit her bottom lip and listened to his rant. When he was done she slowly looked up at him and nodded.

"I want to be your's too." she whispered. She watched his shoulders slump and his gaze soften. "But you're right, he'd kill us." she cried.

"But I can't stand to not be with you, Joe. It hurts." she cried. "I miss us and the way we used to be. Before Billy and before all of this. Just me and you." she whispered and ran a hand down the side of his face. He closed his eyes at her touch and held her wrist.

"But it can't be that way. Billy won't let it. Even if he did let you leave and let me have you, he'd torture us, he'd play us for fools." Joe sighed. Airynn smiled a little and looked up at him.

"Have you ever heard of a one player game?" she asked. "Two can play at that."

"If he finds out-" Joe started but was cut off, again, by Airynn's lips on his. This time he was happy to give what he was getting. Her arms went around his neck to deepen the kiss. Both were out of breath when Airynn pulled back and touched his nose with hers.

"We'll figure this out. I promise." she whispered looking into his eyes. "We can do this. We just need time."

_Joe and Airynn didn__'__t speak too much after the incident_ _at the bar when she left with Billy. Joe kept his distance from her and Billy when they were all together. It killed him to know that Billy was only playing her and she didn__'__t realize it yet. Billy played nice for a while and sucked her into his web and then let the niceties drop. By then she would be all his and she__'__d be stuck. Not even he could save her then. And if he could he wasn't sure he would. Billy was his brother. His flesh and blood. He had protected Joe throughout the years. Even though he knew Billy didn't and never would care for her, she was out of his reach now. Until she figured it out though, he was forced to watch her laugh and smile at Billy like she used to do with him. _

"_Hey, Joe.__"__ Airynn whispered, holding the sleeves of her sweater in her hands. The first thing that came to his mind was that Billy has hit or yelled at her. Why else would she come here? _

"_Can I come in?__"__ she whispered, starting to feel like she shouldn__'__t have come here. He didn__'__t seem to open to her presence. She didn__'__t blame him though. She knew she pulled an old trick by doing that to him and she still hadn__'__t tried to make amends._

"_Oh uh, yeah. Come in.__"__ Joe stuttered and pushed the door open. He watched her walk in and noticed she felt out of place. __"__You can sit. I don__'__t bite.__"__ he smiled a little. Airynn turned to him and flashed him that gentle, bright_ _smile that made his heart skip a beat._

"_I hope it__'__s okay that I dropped by.__"__ she said sitting on the couch. Joe sat down next to her, propping his feet up on the table._

"_It__'__s fine.__"__ he nodded. He didn__'__t know what else to say besides that. They were silent until Airynn spoke again._

"_Listen, I know we haven__'__t been on talking terms and stuff and I know that__'__s partially my fault, so I just wanted to say I__'__m sorry.__"__ she said hurriedly. Joe looked over at her and smiled._

"_I am too.__"__ he nodded. She smiled wider this time and leaned back into the couch._

"_Truce?__"__ she said holding her tiny hand out. Joe laughed and shook her hand. _

"_Yeah, truce.__"__ he agreed. __"__So did you come by to apologize or what?__"__ he smirked. She looked over at him and smiled._

"_Well, kind of.__"__ she said looking away. __"__I was just bored and the smell of your brother__'__s apartment is so disgusting,_ _I had to get out. And well, you__'__re the only friend I have in this town_._ Everyone else minds their own business and immerses themselves in school. You're the first person to let me see Boston and see there's more to do than just school. You actually took the time of day to help me so I figured I could suck it up, and come over to apologize.__"__ she smiled looking over at him._

"_So it wasn__'__t because you missed my devilishly good looks, eh?__"__ he laughed. Airynn sat up quickly and covered her mouth._

"_Oh no, you figure it out!__"__ she exclaimed and crawled over to him. __"__Please, oh please, don__'__t tell Billy. He might get mad and come blow your house down!__"__ she shrieked and threw herself on him. Joe laughed out loud and held her with one arm as she giggled into his neck. _

_That__'__s just one of the many things he loved about her. She might look like one of the spoiled Orange County brats but she was funny. There were so many sides to her that no one saw because they couldn__'__t get past her looks. She was gorgeous, no doubt about it, but he saw past that. He saw the intelligent, funny and caring side of her that she didn__'__t even know she had until she met Joe. He saw her as more than a trophy to parade around at parties and around town, he saw her for who she was. _

_He essentially helped mold that other side of her like she helped bring out the real Joe. The Joe that he couldn__'__t show to Billy or the others guys. The fun, light hearted and normal guy he secretly wanted to be. They loved each other for that. They loved that they could be themselves with each other and not have to worry about impressing other people or keeping up a front. _

"_Yeah, the big bad wolf about sums it up, huh?__"__ Joe agreed when their laughter had died down. Airynn moved herself so she was sitting next to him again and laid her head on his shoulder._

"_Yeah, he gets all puffy when he__'__s mad. It__'__s funny.__"__ she giggled. Joe fought himself from blurting out that it wouldn__'__t be funny when he was mad at her or mad at him but kept it to himself._

"_Where is the_ _wolf anyways?__"__ Joe asked looking down at her. She scrunched up her nose and shrugged._

"_I don__'__t know.__"__ she mumbled. __"__He asked me to come over and then left.__"__ Joe nodded and laid his head on hers. He felt better now that everything wasn__'__t so tense and awkward. _

"_I don__'__t want this to happen again, Joe.__"__ Airynn whispered, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together. __"__I don__'__t want to fight with you anymore. You're the only one that really understand me and come on, I think I'd go crazy if I didn't get to see your scrawy ass every day.__"__ Joe chuckled and kissed the to of her head._

Billy walked into the near empty bar and made his way to the back. It was only noon and it was a Thursday, half of the drunks were either at work or still passed out from last night. It was now that him and Bodie liked to meet so they could have some privacy. At first they met at Bodie's place but when they started meeting after Billy left Bones, they decided to come to the bar so Billy could have a drink. The Office was packed with the other guys and his house had been off limits to since he got Airynn to move in.

"Boss." Bodie greeted as he saw Billy walk up. He already had a beer and a couple shots waiting at the table.

"Bodie." Billy mumbled, shrugging his jacket off and sitting down. He grabbed his cigarettes and lit one before gripping his beer and looking over at Bodie. "What's new?"

"Not much. Everything's pretty low." Bodie told him. "The guys are making a new batch as we speak. Baggy and Tommy have first dibs on corners this week so we don't worry about the first half batch going into Heco's system." he smirked.

Billy shook his head, sometimes he wanted to kill Heco. He was a good seller but he was also a good thief. He had a bad habit of taking without asking and it ended up in a beating. Lately, when Billy caught him stealing he would charge Heco twice the amount he stole, but it didn't phase him.

"So Bones has no reason to give me shit tomorrow?" Billy asked. Bodie took a sip of his beer and shook his head.

"Nope, we're all good." he assured him. Billy let out a grunt and took a shot. Bodie eyed Billy carefully. He had something on his mind, and now seemed the perfect time to bring it up. Billy wasn't in a bad mood and Bodie wanted it off his chest. "So uh, what's going on between Joe and Airynn?" Bodie asked. Billy tilted his head and looked at his friend.

No one knew about the situation with the three of them. They all knew Joe wanted her at first but when Billy sank his teeth in, Joe just couldn't pull her out. As far as they were concerned, Joe let it drop that night and left her be.

"What do you mean?" Billy asked. Bodie shifted in his seat and looked around.

"I've uh, I've noticed they have been spending lot of time together." he said casually. "I saw her car at Joe's when I was coming here and when I spoke to Jennifer the other day she said little Joey was pissed off. She walked off mumbling something about Airynn and you."

Billy stared at him as he spoke.

"So she's at Joe's now?" he asked. Bodie smirked a little and shrugged, hearing the annoyance in Billy's voice.

"Yeah." he nodded. "What's going on?" Billy took a long sip of his beer and smirked.

"Joe thinks he's a man. He thinks he can do big boy things, now." Billy told him. Bodie laughed and shook his head.

"How long has he been putting the moves on her?" Bodie asked. He was amused but part of him felt the aggravation in Billy. Something told him Billy was getting tired of it and that meant Joe was in trouble. Even though he saw Joe as an inconvenience half the time, he didn't want him dead. He knew it would tear a hole in the gang and Billy would sink deeper into the hell he was in.

"A while." Billy told him. "You'd think by now they would have learned, but she keeps fucking running to him." he said and put his cigarette out. Bodie looked around and smirked.

"Let Joe join." he smirked. Billy's hand stopped as he was pulling it back from the ashtray.

"The gang?" he asked, almost amused. Bodie nodded and tried not to laugh when Billy smirked. "Why?" he asked.

"Because you know he'd say yes and you know Airynn would be pissed." Bodie smiled. "She'll yell at him and try to tell him it's not good and he isn't going to listen to her."

"What makes you think he'd say yes?" Billy asked, rising a brow. Bodie was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.

"Oh come on." he laughed. "He'd do it just so he can get some kind of respect for you and you know that." Billy smirked and nodded his head.

"And Airynn will get even more pissed when she realizes that she won't be able to talk him out of it." Bodie finished. "Just like that first night you brought her here. She was pissed at Joe and for weeks she didn't talk to him. But him joining the gang, she definitely won't run off to him. It will ruin their friendship."

Billy smirked and nodded his head. Bodie was right. There was no way Airynn would stick with Joe if he joined the gang and she'd get pissed when she wouldn't be able to talk him out of it. He was tired of having her run off to his little brother, it was quite annoying. What would people think of him if they found out his girl ran off to Joe? He needed to stop this and the sooner the better.

Billy set his beer down and grabbed his jacket as he stood up.

"Where you going?" Bodie asked as Billy shrugged his jacket on. Billy put his cigarette out and started to walk off.

"To see Joe." he smirked and turned around.

"Airynn's there." Bodie reminded him. Billy opened the door to the bar and looked back at Bodie before leaving.

"The more the merrier." he smirked and left.


	7. Choices

**Sorry it took so long! My Beta was on vacation again...lol. Anyways, enjoy this chapter. I wanna thank BEG75, beccatdemon, MissIndependemt101, and StraightEdgeQueen for reviewing. :) Thanks! It means a bunch!!**

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To say that he was confused, was an understatement. Seeing his older brother as his door looking as calm as could be, sent Joe's mind into a state of wonder. On any other day, Joe would have been happy to see Billy so calm and casual but seeing as Airynn was right behind him, Joe knew something had to be up.

"You gonna invite me in or not?" Billy asked, staring at his little brother.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Joe stuttered and pushed the door open for Billy. Billy strode in and walked over to the couch where Joe was just sitting and took the seat next to Airynn. She looked over at him and smiled weakly.

"How long you been here?" Billy asked, stacking his feet on the table. Airynn glanced over at Joe quickly as he sat down in the recliner.

"Not too long. I knew you'd be at the bar so I stopped by to say hey to Joey." she told him softly and as calmly as possible. Billy looked at her and squinted. He knew she was lying but he wasn't here about that.

"Go get me a beer." he ordered her and grabbed his cigarettes. "Get Joe one too. We need to talk." Airynn hurried out of the living room to go fetch them the beers and Billy looked over at Joe. He could see the sweat starting to form on his forehead and smirked.

"A new batch should be done tomorrow. Baggy and Tommy got first dibs, you and Bodie are after them." Billy told him casually. Joe nodded, not knowing what to say. Airynn walked back in and handed Billy his beer. He took it from her and watched her walk over to Joe. He noticed the smile they exchanged when she handed it to him.

"Thanks." Joe mumbled and popped the top. Airynn went to stand up but Billy grabbed her hand. She looked at him confused as he pulled her back next to him and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Ya know I've been thinking, Joe." Billy started. "Since the other day when we took that store." Airynn's head snapped in Joe's direction and Billy hid his smirk. "You did damn good, Joey. I was real proud of ya." Joe couldn't help but smirk a little at this comment.

"Thanks, bro." he said softly, trying to avoid the accusing glare Airynn was shooting at him. He had avoided to tell her about his boys night out with Billy, and by the look of it, she wasn't happy to find out what they had done. Joe felt a mixture of guilt and shame. He hated Airynn to bust him with these kind of things, because he knew that the violence and the fun of humiliating other people was exactly what Airynn hated so much about Billy.

"And at my meeting with Bodie today, we talked a little." he continued. "We think it's time, Joe." Joe's eyes lit up and he sat forward to look at Billy, he knew what that meant. As excited as he was, Joe sent Airynn a weary glance. He did not like the idea of her finding out what Billy was talking about. If she was going to give him trouble over shooting up some liquor store, she would certainly not approve of him becoming a man. At least, not in the way that Billy had in mind.

"You think I'm ready, Billy?" Joe asked. He knew that joining the gang meant a lot more responsibility. He knew that once he joined he was able to do more than just selling. He would be able to help make the drugs and go on the trips with the other guys, to talk to people that messed up or needed a talking to. Joe knew he could do it, but he wanted to hear Billy say it. He needed Billy to answer that question, because he couldn't believe that Billy meant what he just had said.

"Would I ask if you weren't?" Billy asked, raising a brow. Airynn had the sudden urge to yell out yes, she could tell from the smirk on Billy's face that he was up to something. "So you in?"

"Hell yeah, I'm in!" Joe exclaimed, standing up to do the whole man hug with his brother. Airynn watched the exchange and frowned on the inside. Billy kept standing and waved her up."Ya ain't gonna congratulate him?" Billy asked.

Airynn saw that glint in his eye. He knew she was aggravated on the inside and he was taking advantage of that. Part of her really wondered if Billy thought Joe was ready. "Congratulate him with what?"

Joe looked at her solemnly, he knew she she wouldn't like like the idea of him joining, especially after the talk they just had. But there was no way he could say no. This was just too good of a chance. "I am going to get a bigger part in Billy's business."

Airynn forced a smile onto her face and walked over to Joe. She was a little torn about this. She was afraid for Joe joining the gang, for obvisous reasons but he looked so excited. He tried to look in her eyes to really see what she was feeling but she looked away as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Congratulations, Joe." she whispered and pulled away. She walked back over to Billy's side and crossed her arms.

"We'll talk more about the details later." Billy told him and reached into his pocket. "Until then, go have fun." He threw a wad of cash on the coffee table and smirked at Joe, while throwing an arm over Airynn's shoulder. "Go see Jenn again. She said when you came to see her last week, you weren't so nice."

Joe's cheeks reddened when he saw the glare Airynn sent him. Last time she heard Jennifer's name was when she was telling Joe to stop seeing her. Airynn hated Jennifer with a passion. Maybe it was the old Airynn talking but Jennifer was nothing, she wasn't worth anyone's time or money. She was nothing but a whore and she didn't like the fact that Joe slept with her on occasion. Joe never told Airynn about his last escapade with Jennifer or the few times before that. In fact, he never stopped going to see her. He hated to say it but he had to get something somewhere.

"Well, Joey, have fun. And be nice." Billy smirked, enjoying the thick tension that grew in the room. He bent his head down to Airynn's neck and bit it gently. "How's about we go celebrate too?" Airynn shivered when he snuck his hand down to grab her butt, but this time it was a disgusted shiver. Billy pulled her to the door and Joe reached out for her to say goodbye but she moved away from him.

"Later." he whispered. She glared at him and slammed the door when she left.

_Joe hadn't been going on runs for long. Billy only let him go when the night before was really busy and he only let him go with Bodie or himself. Billy didn't trust anyone else with his younger brother. Even though Joe was eighteen now, Billy still didn't want to just throw him in the streets and not know how to do things properly and safely. He didn't not see Joe as the toughest and he didn't want anything happening to his brother, it was his blood. Billy wasn't able to run corners every night and when he did he ran by himself so Bodie, being next in charge, got stuck with Joe._

_"Joe, you need to shut up when I'm talking to people. They want to hear you ramble about as much as I do. And FYI, I don't." Bodie snapped. Joe had a bad habit of talking to ear off of someone. Bodie knew it was because Joe was excited about being able to over see the corners and be there when they sold but still, it got annoying. Plus, tonight Heco was with them and he was enough of a fuck up._

_"Yeah, Joey. Shut the fuck up." Heco laughed. Bodie turned to him and glared._

_"I don't need an echo." he snarled. Heco huffed and looked around._

_"He shouldn't even be here. He don't know nothing about what's going on." Heco smirked over at Joe. Joe's fist tightened and he took a step forward but Bodie stopped him._

_"Just stop. I ain't having this shit at my corner." Bodie told them both. _

_"Whatever. If he wasn't Billy's little brother he wouldn't be here and you know that. He's a boy in a big man's world." Heco grumbled and lit a cigarette. "He ain't never gonna be one of us."Joe's body tensed up and his fists clenched beside him. Heco kept laughing as Joe sent them and icy glare. _

_"Didn't I say stop? I'll send both of ya asses home. I ain't no babysitter so I don't wanna hear the whining." Bodie sighed. Heco glared at him and walked over._

_"You think you'd be man enough one day to be like us?" Heco asked Joe. Joe looked at Bodie, who looked on._

_"Yeah." Joe told him, confidently. _

_"I doubt it." Heco smirked._

_"Hey, you were in his spot at one time. You didn't know jack shit about what was going on around you but you learned. So don't go around saying you're the shit." Bodie defended Joe._

_"Yeah, and at least I won't be on Billy's shit list everyday when I get to where you are." Joe smirked. Bodie chuckled a little and Heco walked off to meet a customer._

_"At least we know you're a Darley." Bodie smirked. Joe looked over at him seriously._

_"You think he'll let me join one day?" Joe asked. _

_"Maybe. If you don't fuck up or steal. You're his brother, he knows he can trust you but we need to be sure we can all count on you." Bodie told him._

_"Heco? You trust Heco?" Joe asked incredulously. Bodie chuckled again and nodded._

_"He might steal and take when he's not supposed to but he's been a friend of ours for years. At one point we've all stole to get a little buzz going. But it's the fact that we know he won't forget to pay us back or deny that he stole it. And he won't go running off to B Street to sell us out." Bodie explained. Joe nodded and looked around._

_"I wanna join one day. And I won't be like Heco, I won't steal." Joe vowed. Bodie nodded his. He knew Joe wouldn't betray them, he know he wouldn't wrong them in anyway. No matter what._

Joe quietly slipped into Billy's apartment and shrugged his jacket off. Billy had called him not even twenty minutes ago telling him to drop the money he had made off at his place. Usually Billy came to pick it up but apparently someone didn't like how Tommy did business and tried to take off with a free bag. Tommy, of course, called Billy and he went to over see the situation. That left Joe taking what he earned to Billy's place.

He noticed all the lights were off and quietly laid his keys down on the counter. He walked down the hallway and walked into the extra bedroom. The room used to be Joe's until Airynn moved, then Billy wanted Joe out. Now the room was only for Billy and Joe to enter. There wasn't too much in it at first glance but if you opened the closet and lifted a few floorboards, there was a lot. The safe was in the back of the closet and there were a few guns stashed under in the boards. Joe thought Billy was crazy for wanting to live here, the place was a dump. There were holes in the wall and nothing worked properly. He thought this until he realized it was the perfect place to hide their stuff. Billy wasn't as stupid as he thought.

Joe placed the bag of money in the safe and put it back in it's place. Him and Billy were the only ones who knew the combination and that made Joe feel better and more trusted by his brother. It proved to him that he meant something to Billy. He left his old bedroom and slowly started to walk back into the living room. He hadn't even thought about Airynn being there until he passed the bedroom.

He waited at the cracked door for a minute before slowly pushing it open and poking his head in. He smirked when he saw Airynn laying on her back on the bed. She was wearing a black tank top and a pair of black night shorts, both decorated with tiny white swirls and Harley Davidson written across the shirt. Her arms were above her head and under the pillow while her legs laid over the crumpled sheets, one was straight out and the other was bent at the knee. He was debating on whether to go closer or not, but their last conversation kept replaying in his mind. Silently he kicked his shoes off before walking over to the bed. She didn't move as he crawled up onto the edge of the bed. His eyes traced a path up her legs and up her body, noticing the tiny space of skin that showed on her stomach.

His mind went into over drive when he placed a hand on the top of her foot. He watched face for any signs of movement as he slowly moved his hand up her right leg. Her skin was soft, softer than he had ever felt before and it only made him want her more. His hand had found it's way to her knee and that's when Airynn shifted.

"Fuck off, Billy." she mumbled, her eyes still closed. Joe chuckled softly and moved his body to move with his hand. He watched as her face twitched as his hand got higher and higher on the inside of her thigh. He placed his other hand on her hip as his first found it's way to the hem of her shorts. His heart beat faster knowing that a few more inches and he'd be where he'd been dreaming of since he met her.

Suddenly, Airynn's hand grabbed his. At first, she thought it was Billy, but these hands on her felt not like Billy's at all. Billy never touched her that way. She thought she was dreaming, until she felt the fingers touch her shorts. She opened her eyes. Joe pinned her hand to the bed and looked up at her. Her eyes focused on him and she smiled a little.

"Stop it, Joey." she breathed, not really meaning it. Joe smirked and placed a kiss to the exposed skin on her stomach. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm softness of his mouth on her.

"Why?" he whispered, moving his hand further under her shorts. His heart leaped as his hand touched the lace of her panties.

"If Billy comes back…." she whispered, shivering when the tip of his fingers ran along the outside of her thong. It hit her then what he was doing, he was teasing her.

Joe pretended like he didn't hear her, watching her biting her lips and massage the pillowed under her head as he continued caressing her. His mind wondered for a moment if Billy made her feel this way. If Billy took his time to watch how he was making her feel or not.

"Joe… stop." she breathed again, when he placed another kiss on her skin, this time just under where her shorts ended on her thigh.

"Airynn," he whispered, his voice savouring every letter of her name as he moved up to kiss her chest. Her hand had moved from under his and ran through his hair.

"What does Billy want you to do?" she whispered. He wasn't letting this conversation go any further so he moved his lips from her chest and up to her lips. His tongue entered her mouth greedily as the moment finally took over. Airynn shifted her hips down into his hand, begging him to go further and he obliged. He moved a finger inside of her and used another to rub and caress her slowly. He smirked when her lips peeled off of his to throw her head back and let out a long, soft gasp. He wanted to attack her neck as she exposed it to him but he couldn't pry his eyes off of her face as she showed every ounce of pleasure she was feeling. When the initial overwhelming feeling of him touching her was subdued, she opened her eyes to look down at him, surprised to see him looking back.

Slowly, Joe removed his hand from he shorts and went to remove his shirt. Airynn stopped him though. She looked in his eyes and sat up from the bed.

"Tell me." she whispered. He sighed and moved to sit next to her.

"Why do you wanna know so bad?" he asked, pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket.

"Why are you so adamant in not telling me?" she retorted. Joe sighed again and threw his cigarette down. He turned to look at her and nodded.

"Fine. You wanna know?" he asked, a little to harshly. "I gotta kill somebody. I gotta kill the person that Billy tells me to kill and then I will be part of his crew." he asked. Airynn stared at him shocked and slowly found her voice.

"No." she whispered at first. "You can't do that." Joe narrowed his eyes at her and stood up.

"What you don't think I'm as tough as they are? They wouldn't have asked if I wasn't, Air!" he yelled. Airynn's anger boiled in her veins and she stood up in front of him.

"Do not fucking yell at me, Joseph!" she yelled back and glared at him. "This isn't about who's tougher. It doesn't matter if they think you're strong enough. It's about me not wanting you to do it."

"Why?" he asked. Airynn stared at him dumbfounded and crossed her arms.

"You just told me to join the gang, you have to kill someone." she yelled. "Take a life, Joe. Do you even understand what that means? Of course, I'm going to tell you not to do it."

"I'm not fucking stupid, Airynn. But I can't turn them down. I've waited a long time for this. I'm his brother and half the time he treats those fuck ups better than me. I deserve more respect." Joe told her. Airynn shook her head and stepped way from him.

"You're not doing this," she told him. "It's me or the gang, Joe. Simple as that."


	8. Tonight

**Thanks a bunch! And sorry for the long wait. My Beta was swamped with work. Anyways, I'm going to take a page from BEG75 and offer a cyber cookie for those who can tell me the added reference in here...lol. If you're not familiar with who my cast is...this so might give it away but...Airynn is played by Amanda Seyfried and you all know who plays Joe, Matt O'Leary. But there is a funny reference in here. :)**

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Billy didn't say a word as he breezed through the old building and walked into the chapel. Bodie was right behind him and he signaled to Baggy to follow. Billy sat in the front pew as the other two men sat in the second one. Neither was too sure as to what Billy wanted but both knew it was important if they were meeting in the chapel and not at the bar.

"Has Bodie filled you in on the latest news?" Billy asked, lighting a cigarette. Baggy nodded his head and only spoke up when Bodie budged him.

"Uh yeah. You're letting Joey in." Baggy said. Billy exhaled a long stream of smoke and nodded. Bodie took the silence as his turn to talk and cleared his throat.

"You wanna go ahead and plan it?" Bodie asked.

"Why else would we meet here?" Billy asked harshly and turned to sit sideways on the pew. He draped one arm over the back and looked back at them. "I want this as planned as possible. I might be tired of his shit but this is still my little brother we're talking about."

"All the more reason to make him a man." Bodie nodded.

"Make him a true brother." Baggy added, carefully. This was what the initiation was. It was not the joining of a gang, it was the joining of a brotherhood.

"I don't want him to do a pansy ass initiation." Billy stated. Bodie smirked, knowing why. Billy wanted to make sure Joe's night made a lasting impression. He wanted to make sure Airynn didn't take another look at Joe as long as he lived. This built up a sense of pride in Bodie. This, after all, was his idea and to see Billy going through with it all the way, it secured him in where he stood**:** Which was right next to Billy.

"Well, what did you have in mind boss?" Bodie asked, leaning forward. Billy smirked and pointed behind him to the corner. Baggy and Bodie turned to see a long, rusty machete sitting in the corner. Baggy nodded and looked back at Billy.

"How we doing it this time?" he asked. Billy looked over at him and stared.

"Why you got something in mind?" Billy asked.

"I was thinking we could do the lights. Do it the old fashioned way." Baggy suggested. Bodie nodded in agreement. The guys liked when they would drive around and wreak havoc on the town by flashing their lights, only this time it would be to find a victim.

"Alright then." Billy nodded. "Bodie and Baggy you two ride with Heco in his car. Joe's riding with me and Tommy in mine. Bodie, you will be the one to keep an eye out on the streets. I don't want anyone to come and ruin Joe's party. I expect you to watch our backs. You kill every single person who tries to step foot in whatever place we end up. Baggy, I want you inside with me. I need someone who knows what needs to be done and who doesn't hesitate to act if something goes wrong. When Joe did what he had to do, we get the hell out of there. I'm not cutting him any slack or changing rules because this is Joe. Whoever falls behind is left behind." The other two men nodded and took in the information.

"Alright," Billy smirked. "Let's get going ladies. Tonight is the night."

_Billy didn't know how he was going to do it. At first, he had no problem with just him and Bodie running the streets but now more people were coming to them and it was getting harder to manage everything._

_"Man, this is bullshit." Bodie complained walking down the street with Billy. "We haven't seen daylight in days. We haven't seen fun in weeks. This isn't looking like I imagined it." Billy sighed and stopped at a corner._

_"Well, at least we're making money." Billy told him, pulling out his cigarettes and lighter._

_"Yeah, but we don't have the time off to go spend it." Bodie retorted. Billy put the cigarette in his mouth and looked over at Bodie._

_"Are you going to bitch all night?" he asked. Bodie huffed and looked around as Billy lit his cigarette. They were silent for few minutes before Billy spoke up again. "I know it's getting to be too much but what do you want me to do? Go ask Bones for a day off? I can see that perfectly. Him being sympathetic because I'm tired." Bodie sighed and shook his head._

_"That's not what I meant." Bodie told him and thought for a moment. "Listen, I got this old friend of mine that just moved here. He hasn't gotten a job yet and he might be able to help out." Bodie suggested. Billy took a deep drag off of his cigarette and slowly looked back over at Bodie._

_"Keep going." Billy told him, sensing that he had more to say. Bodie stood in front of him and looked around real quick._

_"So I was thinking maybe we could like get a crew together." he told him. "Get a few guys to help us out so we won't have to do it all ourselves. They would work under you, of course. But it would give us a break and might make Bones more money." Billy looked at his friend and thought about it._

_"More people available means more opportunities to provide for more customers. That makes more money." Billy mumbled to himself, thinking of the best way to pitch the idea to Bones later._

_"Bones shouldn't mind, seeing as it has good possibilities." Bodie added in. Billy nodded a little and threw his cigarette away._

_"That sounds all fine and dandy but what makes you think they won't make some money and bail? Hell, they have the perfect opportunity to steal our goods." Billy added. Bodie smirked and held up a finger. He had this all thought out already._

_"Initiations." he told Billy simply. "Make it something that will tie them to us, bond us together. Make them feel that they are a part of something real and strong." Billy stared at Bodie, not really surprised that he thought this through as much as he did. Billy might have had the plans and the guts to execute them but Bodie was the one that helped him plan everything out and make sure they were alive and in one piece when they were done. _

_"And what do you suggest we have them do?" Billy asked. Bodie shrugged wanting to leave that part up to Billy._

_"That's your deal but it's got to be something that will let them know this ain't no joke. We've got to keep them in check." Bodie told him. "I do think we should videotape it."_

_"Why?" Billy asked._

_"In case worst comes to worst, we have blackmail." Bodie explained. Billy grinned and slapped Bodie on his shoulder. _

_"For the first time, I'm actually glad you think so fucking much Bodie. So... what would tie someone to us? What creates a fucking bond between men?"_

_"A robbery?" Bodie offered up. Billy gave it thought for a while, but then shook his head and smirked._

_"What makes a boy a man?" he asked. Bodie stared at his friend and cocked his head to the side._

_"Seriously?" Bodie asked. Billy nodded, slowly. "We've already proven what we're worth, so I don't see a reason to go soft on whoever works for us."_

Joe was surprised she hadn't asked about the other night. They hadn't talked since she gave him the ultimatum but they really didn't have a chance. She had been working a few extra shifts because a co-worker was out and Billy had Joe running his corners as usual. Tonight was the first night they had alone since that day and as much as he wanted to talk to her about it, he didn't want to ruin the night.

"Tell me again the reason we are watching this god awful movie?" Airynn grumbled from behind the pillow. Joe had walked through her door not even half an hour ago holding up a DVD in a shiny green box that read 'Solstice' on the front. He knew she wasn't big on scary films but he was making her watch it anyways.

"Because it's good and that chick is hot." Joe replied, pointing at a girl on the screen that somewhat resembled Airynn, except for that her hair was dark. Airynn scoffed and moved her head to look around the pillow to peek at the screen. When the tension lifted she set the pillow in her lap. "Welcome back." Joe teased.

"You're a freak, you know that?" she asked, looking over at her. He flashed a smile and looked back at the television. She smirked a little and leaned back into the couch. She had her hands gripped on the pillow in case another bad scene came up but so far it was pretty low key. She was about to put her hand over his, when the front door swung open, scaring her half to death. She let out a shrill scream and jumped off the couch. She stared at Billy as he stood in the door way. Airynn was about to yell at him for scaring the shit out of her but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Joe.

"You gonna do this?" he barked. Joe stood up slowly and looked at Airynn. "If you're going to do this, it's now or never, Joey." Airynn's chest tightened when she heard Billy give Joe his own ultimatum. She stared at Joe and waited for him to say something. Billy never moved his gaze from his little brother and he smirked when Joe nodded and reached out to grab his jacket.

Joe hated to do it this way but he had his mind made up. He had to join and show Billy what he was made of. Without saying a word to Airynn or even looking at her Joe walked past Billy and out the door. He had not had the slightest idea of how to tell her that he needed to do this, and now that the time was there, he opted for the easiest way out. Joe had never been good at confrontations.

Airynn stared, jaw dropped, as Joe blatantly ignored her and made his decision. Billy stood there for a moment and turned to look at Airynn. She glared at him and he walked over to her. She flinched when he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her face to his.

"You're mine." he whispered. "And so is he. Don't ever fucking forget it again." He held her there for a moment and stalked out the apartment, leaving the door wide open.

The tears fell down her cheeks easily as she stared out the door. A wave of mixed emotions washed over her and she slowly sank to the floor. She felt sick feeling this way. Only Billy had caused her to feel this way, but never Joe. He never made her feel like she was nothing. He never made her feel like she was just something to keep him company at night. But now she was angry that he embarrassed her like that in front of Billy. She was upset because she knew tonight he would turn into the man that she wanted to get away from. And she was broken because, even though she chose him over Billy, he did not do the same for her. He turned her down and walked away from her.

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Joe felt like his heart would jump out of his chest when Tommy slammed the brakes of the black mustang and his brother jumped out of the car. This was it. There was no doubt in Joe's mind that he could do this – after all he was a Darley – but Airynn's words had been resonating in his mind from the moment he left the apartment with Billy.

_'Take a life Joe. Do you even understand what that means?'_ He knew that by doing this, he gave up on Airynn. She had been crystal clear with him._ 'It's me or the gang Joe. Simple as that.'_

As he followed Billy, who burst through the door of the shop, his determination started to falter. It wasn't in his nature to seek out confrontations like this, let alone kill someone he didn't even know. With Baggy beside him to back them up, he froze when he heard Billy shout his first threats.

"Get the fuck down, or I'll blow your fucking head off. Get the fuck down!" Billy yelled at the store clerk, who put his hands up. Joe heard the difference in Billy's voice from other times they robbed gas stations, this time Billy meant serious business. That thought was confirmed by the loud sound of Billy's fired shotgun and the sight of the store clerk being blown backwards before his lifeless body hit the ground.

Even if he wanted it, there was no turning back: His brother would take it as a personal insult and would rather shoot Joe himself than let him go. Joe's eyes darted through the shop and rested on the kid standing only a few feet away, shuddering and shaking in fear at the sight of Billy, who now pointed the double-barreled shotgun at the kid. "Get this motherfucker! This is your guy!" Billy yelled as he smacked Joe in the back of his head.

Joe immediately disliked the kid, who seemed only a couple of years younger than him. He was a typical uptown prick: too smooth, too arrogant and ignorant to everything that didn't fit in his perfect life. _'Indeed, it's simple as that',_ Joe thought, _'Try to weasel your fucking way out of this one, asshole.' _

"Do this, or you're not one of us!" Billy's insisting voice interrupted his train of thought. His fingers clenched around the machete, Joe thought of Airynn and silently said goodbye to her in his mind. He was ready to give her up for his brother and he was ready to face whatever life would throw at him, as long as Billy got his back..

"You can do this," he heard Billy whisper encouragingly in his ear as Baggy put in his two cents. "Kill this motherfucker Joey."

As he raised his machete and slit the throat of the seventeen year old in front of him, Joe didn't experience what he expected. He didn't feel tough or like being in charge, he didn't feel the excitement Billy and Baggy obviously did. Joe froze as he saw the fear and disbelief in Brendan Hume's eyes. As he came to his senses and struggled to get the hell out of that place, the only thing he could think of was who Billy made him. But even then, when he was left behind and alone, he didn't feel remorse. He had finally managed to make Billy proud of him.


	9. Chapter 9

"Fuck." he grumbled, opening his eyes firs the first time in what seemed liked forever, but only to shut them again when he was greeted by bright white lights. Last night was almost a blur for Joe. He remembered being in the store with Billy and Baggy but after the kill, he wasn't so sure. His hand went for his head and he hissed when he hit a wound.

"How do you feel?" a tiny voice asked and Joe tried to place the near distant voice. When he did his eyes slowly opened and looked around. His sore eyes landed on the tiny blond in the corner, Airynn.

"Like I got hit by a bus." he mumbled and looked down at the IV and wires coming form his body. He sighed and laid his head back down.

"Close." Airynn nodded and pushed herself from the wall. "It was a car that did the damage." she told him. He winced at the coldness of her voice and looked away from her. He knew she was angry about the whole deal and wanted to try and avoid that conversation.

Airynn on the other hand, had a lot to say. Since he walked out of her apartment she had thought of a billion of things to yell and scream at him. Even when she got the call that he was in the hospital, she still couldn't find it in her heart to feel sorry for him.

"I don't want to fight with you, Air. I'm hurting and I'm tired." he told her firmly and looked over at her again. Airynn bit her lip and nodded.

"Well," she started and looked straight at him. "That's too damn bad." Joe's eye widened a little as he stared at her. Airynn moved over to the side of his bed and laid her hands on the bed rail next to his arm.

"I believe in Karma, Joe." she told him and frowned when he rolled his eyes. "You took a life tonight and you almost lost yours. Does that not mean anything to you?" she asked. Joe rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Didn't I just say that I didn't want to fight?" he asked irritated.

"And didn't I just tell you that that wasn't going to happen? Did you really expect me to walk in here and feel sorry for you?" she asked, almost laughing. Joe looked at her and shook his head, not believing she wanted to fight when he was hurt like this.

"Honestly," he started. "Yeah. You almost got me convinced that you loved me, but all you can do is yell at me while I lay here." he told her, raising his voice a little.

"Well, if you weren't such a dumb shit, you wouldn't be laying there, now would ya?" she retorted. "See? This is what I warned you about!" she told him, raising her voice to match his.

"And what's that?" Joe asked her. Airynn laughed sarcastically and crossed her arms.

"Doing what your fucking demented brother tells you to do." she yelled. "You're like his bitch." Joe's head shot to her and he sent her a hard glare.

"I think it's time you shut up." he growled. Airynn ignored him though. She was too riled up to stop now. She finally had him alone and in a position that he couldn't just get up and walk off, she was determined using that to her advantage.

"Don't you see what he's doing to you? To us? He's tearing us apart, Joe!" she yelled on the verge of tears. Joe's face grew red with anger and frustration. He was angry that she was yelling at him now and frustrated that he couldn't really stop her.

"He doesn't make me do shit, Airynn. I make my own choices and decisions." he told her.

"Yes Joe, you do. And so do I." Joe saw the grim look on her face, and knew instantly that her words implied something more. He could tell from the way she looked at him that she meant more than that she was through with him.

She raised a brow at him and he clenched his jaw. "What the fuck did you do, Air?" he asked, even though he was sure he wouldn't like the answer. Airynn stood there her eyes filled with the fury he saw before, but this time he recognized something else too: fear. He could clearly see it as she spoke up again.

"I had to, Joe. I can't let him do this to you anymore." she said trying to convince him that she did the right thing even though he didn't know what he has done. Joe's heart beat faster and he leaned up in the bed.

"What the fuck did you do? Did you go behind my back?" he yelled at her and she looked at the ground. When Airynn looked back at him, she took a big step forward and jabbed her finger in his face. She wasn't scared anymore, his own anger had increased hers.

"I went to the fucking police!" she yelled. Joe's eye widened as he looked at the girl that he loved. The girl that just told him she went to rat him out to the police.

Airynn stared at him for as long as she could but when she started to feel guilty, she turned away. There was no way she was going to feel guilty for what she did. She loved Joe with all her heart and she was tired of letting Billy control them. How could she get Billy to leave her and Joe alone? How would she be able to get Joe to realize this was not the way to live a life? To Airynn the only reasonable answer and the solution for her problems was to go to the police. She felt no guilt what so ever when she stepped into the police station, asked for Detective Wallis and she sure as hell didn't feel any guilt when she told her what was going down tonight.

"You fucking did what?" Joe asked in a near whisper. Airynn kept her gaze turned down as she answered him.

"I told the police." she whispered.

"What the fuck!" Joe screamed, making Airynn jump. "I'm going to go to fucking jail, prison! How could you do this shit?" he seethed and snatched that sheet off of him. Airynn backed up, thinking he was going to hit her when he got out of the bed, and as her back hit the wall the door swung open.

* * *

She almost couldn't believe her ears. Never in a million years would she think that Billy Darley's girlfriend would come to her office and rat him and his gang out. It was surreal to be honest, it gave her a shock and that didn't happen often.

"Mr. Darley." Detective Wallis greeted as she pushed through the door of his hospital room. She scanned the room to see if any other guests were there, but only saw Airynn. She had noticed the guy they called Spink at the end of the hall when she came in and as much as she wanted t arrest him too, she didn't have anything on him, but Jessica Wallis sure was thrilled to drag a handcuffed Joe Darley with her to the police station.

"What?" Joe snapped. Airynn flinched when Joe snapped at Wallis and slowly moved to grab her purse. Wallis glanced at Airynn before walking over to Joe's bedside.

"I hear you've been getting into some trouble." she said casually. Joe looked over at Airynn with a cocky smirk and shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not." he said nonchalantly. Airynn shook her head lightly and started to walk to the door.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Joe called before she could reach the door. She turned to look back at Joe and Wallis waved her hand.

"She can go wherever she wants. It's you I'm here for." Wallis told him, trying to save Airynn from another confrontation with Joe. Wallis knew that Airynn didn't regret coming to her but she knew it was hard.

"It's because of that bitch that you're here for me, so I don't think she's going anywhere until I fucking tell her to piss off." Joe growled and Airynn blinked back tears and tried to compose herself. Wallis looked over at her and nodded a little, a silent gesture telling Airynn to stay strong.

"I did it for us, Joe." Airynn told him firmly. Joe laughed out loud and shook his head.

"You did it for yourself." he spat. "Was I just a toy in your little game? Use me to cause friction between you and my brother?" Joe yelled and Wallis decided it was time to end this. She walked over and pulled Joe out of bed. He ignored her as she slapped the hand cuffs on him.

"That's not what it was and you know that!" Airynn screamed, hurt that he would say and think such things.

"Oh bull shit. Billy's told me how you like it," he smirked. "Rough. I'm just a little pissed I didn't get to find out for myself." Wallis yanked him by the cuffs and pulled him to the door as he and Airynn lashed out at one another.

As Wallis dragged Joe into the hallway, he started to struggle with her. "Get your hands off me, bitch!" he screamed, trying to break free from Wallis' grip. When he felt her hands slipping he turned around, ready to jump at Airynn. "You fucking got me arrested, Airynn. I'm not done with you!" he threatened her. Before he could say anything else, Wallis' partner grabbed Joe from behind and dragged him backwards. When the detective smashed Joe's face roughly against the hallway wall, Airynn let out a gasp.

"Isn't it a little too late to feel sorry for me now? You should have thought about this when you fucking ratted us out." he snarled.

"Shut it Darley." Wallis warned and held a hand out to Airynn. "You did the right thing." she tried to assure her. Joe laughed out loud again and was snatched back from the wall.

When the detective escorted him down the hallway. Airynn covered her mouth, finally realizing the impact of her actions on Joe's life. Airynn wasn't the only one who stood frozen, watching how Joe was taking into custody. The last thing Joe saw was how Spink nodded at him, giving him a sympathetic look as he pulled out his phone to call Billy.

_As much as he liked going out drinking and partying with the guys at all hours of the night, Joe had to admit it was nice to come out into the daylight hours and go around Boston. Airynn didn't really like what the night life had to offer_; _she was from California, she liked the sun._

"_What are we shopping for?__"__ Joe asked as they walked through the streets of Boston. They weren't in the city itself but more on the outside of the city with all the shopping stores and boutiques._

"_We're window shopping, Joe.__"__ Airynn sighed, a little aggravated that he wasn't all that happy to be out here. _

"_We're shopping for windows?__"__ he asked incredulously. Airynn giggled and turned to him. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and tucked it under slowly. He smirked when her fingers brushed the side of his neck and she smiled._

"_No, we're just looking. We call it window shopping when we don't have the money to buy it or when we want to get a feel for what we want and buy it later.__"__ she told him softly. She looked up at him and winked before turning away and walking down the street. _

"_So how long are we going to be out here?__"__ he asked when he caught up to her. _

"_Not too much longer, I'm getting hungry.__"__ she told him and pointed to a Victoria's Secret store. Joe's face lit up and he stopped in front of it._

"_How about we go do a little more than window shopping?__"__ he suggested. Airynn crossed her arms and smirked at him._

"_Yeah, and what would that be?__"__ she asked. Joe reached out and grabbed one side if her hip._

"_Trying stuff on just for the hell of it.__"__ he smirked. Airynn giggled and shook her head._

"_You wish.__"__ she told him. Joe pouted and she looked past him to avoid the pout. When she did she grimaced and cocked her head to the side._

"_What a slut.__"__ she mumbled, looking at a short Hispanic girl walking down the street. She was wearing a black skirt that ended on the tops of her thighs and a tight maroon tube top. Airynn smirked and couldn't help the thoughts that flew through her mind. 'Does she really think that guys want to look at her? They probably know that she's painted this town all kinds of colors' she thought. _

_Joe didn't hear what she said but saw her looking over his shoulder. He turned to see what she was looking at and a grin spread across his face._

"_Jenn!__"__ he called out. Airynn looked at Joe when he shouted and looked to see who he was yelling for. When she saw the girl smile and wave, she almost laughed._

"_You know her?__"__ Airynn asked in disbelief. Joe looked at her oddly and nodded. __"__Joe, she looks like a whore.__"__ Joe shrugged and walked a couple steps away to meet Jenn. Airynn watched as Joe smiled and talked to this girl and she felt jealousy build up in her body. She put on a smug smile and walked over to Joe, grabbing his hand and tugging it lightly._

"_Let's go.__"__ she said and ignored the girl. _

"_We're talking here.__"__ Jenn spoke up and gave Airynn a once over. Joe looked at Airynn, shocked by her attitude and moved a few feet away. _

"_I'll be done in a minute.__"__ he told her. Airynn huffed and looked back at Jenn._

"_Honey, I'm sure you can find some other guy to talk to.__"__ she smirked and finger quoted the word talk. Joe now understood why she was acting this way. _

"_Listen, I'll be done in a minute. She's a friend of mine.__"__ Joe told her firmly and walked back to Jen. Airynn stood in her spot and glared at the two of them._

"_Sorry.__"__ Joe apologized. Jenn smiled and traced a finger down his chest._

"_It's alright, you know how to make it up to me.__"__ she winked. Joe looked back at Airynn quickly and nodded._

"_Alright. I'll see you tonight.__"__ he said and walked off before Airynn could walk back over there._

She was sure she would get a verbal lashing when Billy opened the door but she was willing to take that risk. She hadn't seen Joe in a couple days and she was beginning to get worried. Even though they left off on bad terms last time, she still couldn't help the feelings she felt for him. Since the first time they had met each other, she was smitten. She knew there was a tiny chance if them getting together and Airynn was the blame for that. Jenn knew that as long as Airynn was around, Joe would never be with her.

Jenn jumped from her thoughts when Billy's door swung open. She stared up at him as he glared down at her.

"What?" he asked and moved from the door. She was hesitant on walking in but when she saw him sit down on the couch she slowly walked in.

"I was just wondering where Joey was. I haven't seen him in a while." she spoke, trying to control her wavering voice. Billy looked at her and narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" he asked.

"I haven't seen-"

"I fucking heard you. Why do you want to see him? Need some money?" he smirked. Jenn lowered her head and sighed.

"I just wanted to see him. That's all." she whispered. He shook his head and reached for this phone when it started to ring.

"Spink, where the fuck are you at?" Billy barked into the phone. Jenn watched his face as it contorted with anger and frustration. "When did they pick him up?" he asked. Jenn tilted her head and tried to listen to what he was saying. "Wallis take him in?"

Jenn's eyes widened when she realized that Billy was talking about Joe, Joe was in jail. She jumped again when Billy slammed his phone down and looked over at her.

"Joe's busy. Go find another lonely desperate bastard." he growled. Jenn left the room quickly and ran down to her car. She was shaking slightly as she drove down to the police station and she prayed that Airynn wasn't there.

She hated the looks she got as she walked into the lobby but ignored them and asked the receptionist to see Joe. She waited a few minutes and was then escorted down the hall to the lock up. Her heart sank when the officer pointed to a tiny cell. Joe was laying in the dirty bed covering his face.

"Joe." she whispered and grabbed onto the bars. Joe's head shot up and he stood up when he saw Jenn there.He walked over to the door and looked at her sadly.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked. Jenn smiled a little and shrugged.

"I went to talk to Billy and I heard you were in here." she told him. Joe raised his brows and stared at her.

"Why did you go talk to my brother?" he asked.

"To see where you were. I missed you baby." she told him softly. Joe smirked and slipped his arms through the bars to touch her face and she shivered at his touch.

"Thanks for coming." Joe whispered. "I was starting to get lonely." Jenn looked at him funny.

"Hasn't anyone came to see you?" she asked. Joe knew she meant Airynn and shook his head.

"We had a fight. She was the one who ratted me out to the police." he told her roughly. Jenn's heart leaped in her chest and Joe noticed this. She was happy that they were fighting. Joe smirked again and leaned close to the bars.

"I don't think she'll be coming to see me anytime soon. She got me fooled and I made a mistake in trusting someone so different from us " he whispered, as he sought Jennifer's gaze. She smiled softly and kissed his wrist.

"It's her loss." she told him. Joe nodded and smiled at her.

"But whose gain?" he whispered, carefully cupping her neck and pulling her closer.

"I wouldn't betray you." she promised. Her words sounded so challenging, so confronting. Joe nodded and moved his arms back inside the cell when the guard glared at him.

"You might wanna go." he told her. "The guards are getting antsy but come back and see me, alright?" he grinned. Jenn nodded and reluctantly walked off. Joe's grin disappeared when she was gone and he sighed as he flopped down in the springy mattress. He held his head in his hands and thought about earlier today. He thought about all the nasty and rude things he yelled and screamed at Airynn. He knew she'd never forgive him for today but he had to make her love him again. He needed to talk to her, to make things right. But how would he do that? He looked over at the guard and sat up in the bed.

"Hey! Don't I get a fucking phone call?"


End file.
